Microsoft stops selling movies and TV shows; purchases remain viewable but locked in
In July 2025 Microsoft ended movie and TV purchases and rentals on the Microsoft Store across Windows and Xbox. Previously purchased content remains watchable — and still downloadable on Windows — but locked to Microsoft's apps, with no refunds.
- Date
- July 18, 2025
- Platform
- Microsoft Store
- Refunds offered
- No
- Offline copy provided
- No
What happened
In July 2025, Microsoft ended the sale and rental of movies and TV shows through the Microsoft Store on Windows and Xbox. Microsoft's support notice stated that previously purchased content remains playable in the Movies & TV app and that no refunds would be issued. Downloads remain available on Windows (up to "HD max" quality), but purchases stay locked to Microsoft's app with no way to transfer them to another service.
US customers can link eligible movie purchases to Movies Anywhere to access them through other connected services; this covers movies only (not TV shows) and is available in the US only.
Consumer impact
- No immediate loss of access, but purchases are now locked to apps whose long-term operation Microsoft has made no commitment to sustain.
- No refunds were offered, and purchases cannot be moved to another service (aside from linking eligible movies to Movies Anywhere in the US) — locking them to apps whose long-term operation Microsoft has not committed to.
- The precedent of Microsoft's own ebook store closure (2019), where content stopped working entirely, frames the risk for this library.
Why it matters
This is a live, ongoing case: a major platform exiting a media category while millions of purchase licenses remain outstanding. It is the current test of whether "you can still watch for now" hardens into a commitment or repeats the ebook-store trajectory.