Due to the meteoric rise of so many streaming and rental services and subscription plans, Microsoft seems to have stepped back from the visual entertainment enterprise in favor of focusing on their other gaming and cloud-based endeavors. According to the official Microsoft Support site:
“Microsoft no longer offers new entertainment content for purchase, including movies and TV shows, on Microsoft.com, Microsoft Store on Windows, and the Microsoft Store on Xbox. However, you can continue to access your purchased content in the Movies & TV app on Xbox or Windows device.”
As someone with a relatively vast digital library of Halloween sale horror movies, classic comedy bundles and free anime-month drops, I am a little saddened to see the service go, but with so many other outlets offering streaming subscription services, and even free apps like Tubi allowing for a pretty sizable number of classic films and television (I just watched through the entirety of the Robocop franchise), Microsoft doesn’t really need to bother at this point.
They are focusing more on their upcoming XBOX console, among a million other technological advancements that will likely propel the brand even further into the future. I imagine that this was more a financial move than anything and will likely lead to something better going forward.
Further inquiries into the matter reveal:
With that said, much like the loss of ‘XBOX Games with Gold’, this news will hit some fans much harder than others. I fall more in the camp of excitement as they’re restructuring in such a way that will allow for greater focus on gaming, but time will tell if my optimism pays off.
I wouldn’t be surprised if in a year or less, we end up seeing a Microsoft streaming service similar to Game Pass but focused on film and television. XBOX Movie Pass or something. Either way, for now we can only speculate, and fortunately we can still enjoy the movies and tv shows we’ve already purchased. You can’t do that with a subscription service!
