Microsoft has announced it’s shutting down its TV and movie marketplace on all digital platforms, including the Xbox Store.
The news comes from an updated FAQ on the Xbox Support page detailing the end of the service, which kicks in today. Customers who previously purchased movies or shows through the Xbox Store will still be able to watch them through the Movies & TV App.
The move is another nail in the (long-buried) coffin of the business strategy behind the Xbox One in 2013, which promised to be an all-in-one multimedia device for video games, film and television. Those talking points were abandoned after now-CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer took charge of Xbox, succeeding Don Mattrick.
One very notable title that debuted on the Xbox Moves & TV marketplace was the 2014 film The Interview, which was pulled from wide theatrical release after Sony Picture Entertainment was hacked by a cybercrime group called “The Guardians of Peace,” which is affiliated with the government of North Korea. Said government had threatened to attack the United States if the film was released, as it depicts the fictional assassination of supreme leader Kim Jong Un. Microsoft joined Google in releasing the film on December 24, the planned original release date for the movie.
Microsoft’s all-in-one entertainment ambitions are dead
The Xbox One’s entertainment-minded strategy ran parallel to a now-defunct business push from Microsoft to dive into Hollywood with Xbox Entertainment Studios, a Santa Monica-based production company meant to produce content for Xbox Live.
Its output was minimal, marked only by the release of a documentary called Atari: Game Over, a Halo-themed series called Halo: Nightfall, and a sports reality show called Every Street United. It also produced two live event specials, the Bonnaroo 2014 Live Festival Experience, and Miss Teen USA 2014.
The lack of a correlating business interest with the film and television industry may partly explain Xbox’s announcement, as its primary competitor, Sony Interactive Entertainment, still hosts a wide library of linear entertainment. Sony stands to gain more from keeping its multimedia marketplace online thanks to the success of Sony Pictures and its subsidiaries. Many films produced by Sony also serve as cross-promotion for PlayStation devices.
The Xbox support page directs customers to several of its competitors as a form to continue watching new movies and TV shows on Xbox devices. “The following transactional services are available today: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home, among others,” it states.