By It’s the end of an era!
For well over a decade now, Microsoft has used its “Movies & TV” (otherwise known as “Films & TV”) service to allow Xbox and PC users to rent or buy films – but suddenly, that’s all come to a screeching halt today.
The company has confirmed that it will no longer be providing this service on PC or Xbox, although existing purchases will be honoured meaning you’ll still be able to watch them. Xbox users have been getting this confirmation via a message on console, and Microsoft has provided a more detailed FAQ on the company’s official website.
“Microsoft has stopped selling new movies and TV content. You can still access your previously purchased content on Windows and Xbox devices.”
I’ve just personally had a check of my purchases, and yes – I can still watch everything I own on the “Films & TV” app here in the UK, although I don’t believe there’s a way to download your purchases on Xbox (it’s all streamed). Microsoft has confirmed that you can still play “personal videos” on Xbox as well through personal storage and media servers.
There are loads of other ways to buy and rent films on Xbox consoles these days, but this still marks the end of an era – I can recall renting movies on my Xbox One through this service back when it first came out! Microsoft Movies & TV has now been fully removed from the Microsoft Store app on Xbox, and there’s barely any trace of it ever existing.
Talk about a move that’s come out of the blue – we would have liked a little bit of warning, Microsoft!
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know down in the comments section below.
[source support.microsoft.com]
Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.