Runway Gen-3: The AI Video Tool You Can Actually Use
Runway Gen-3 Alpha launched June 17, 2024, offering public AI video generation while Sora remained unreleased. Finally, accessible AI video.
On June 17, 2024, Runway released Gen-3 Alpha—and unlike Sora, you could actually use it.
While OpenAI kept Sora in limited testing, Runway shipped Gen-3 publicly with subscriptions starting at $12/month.
Sometimes shipping matters more than perfection.
What Gen-3 Offered
10-second videos: High-quality, photorealistic Consistent quality: Reliable output Actually available: Anyone could subscribe and use it Reasonable pricing: $12-$125/month tiers
Not as impressive as Sora's 60-second demos, but real and usable.
Why Runway Won
Availability: Shipping beats vaporware Iteration: Public use drives improvement Business model: Clear pricing and access Community: Users creating and sharing
Sora had better demos. Runway had actual users.
Where Are They Now?
Runway continues improving Gen-3. When Sora finally launched in December 2024, Runway had months of head start building user base and improving based on real usage.
June 17, 2024 proved that in fast-moving markets, shipping imperfect products beats perfecting unreleased ones.