OpenAI’s video tool just got bolder. In its latest update, Sora 2 now allows everyone to create 15-second AI videos, while Pro users can stretch their clips to 25 seconds — complete with a new storyboard feature that lets creators build narratives scene by scene.
The move feels like a quiet shot fired at Google’s Veo 3.1, which just added sound and advanced editing to its own AI film tool.
OpenAI’s update expands Sora’s playground for digital storytellers and meme makers alike, even as computing limits still gate how much footage can be generated at once.
Sora’s popularity hasn’t waned since launch — the app topped the U.S. App Store within three days, echoing the frenzy seen when OpenAI released ChatGPT.
Some users have reportedly flipped invite codes for up to $45 online. It’s part of a broader wave of AI video mania, fueled by rising competition from tools like Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha and Meta’s Emu Video.
But this isn’t just a creator’s playground anymore — it’s a business. OpenAI is also rolling out a revenue-sharing model that will let rights holders dictate how their characters appear in Sora videos.
CEO Sam Altman said the new opt-in system is designed to calm tensions with Hollywood studios, echoing his call for “interactive fan fiction” as a legitimate creative economy.
That pivot comes after mounting pressure from entertainment unions that have already pushed back against AI likeness use, as seen in last year’s SAG-AFTRA strikes.
This longer, smarter, and more collaborative version of Sora hints at OpenAI’s ambitions to control the future of digital filmmaking.
Yet it also sharpens the ethical divide — between freedom to create and the rights of those whose images, voices, and stories risk being remixed by anyone with a prompt.
