Oyster, the Netflix-like service that gives readers unlimited access to e-books for a monthly subscription fee, is shutting down.
The company broke the news in a blog post this week, “we will be taking steps to sunset the existing Oyster service over the next several months,” read the post. The company said that the future of e-books is in mobile. “We believe more than ever that the phone will be the primary reading device globally over the next decade—enabling access to knowledge and stories for billions of people worldwide,” reads the blog post. “Looking forward, we feel this is best seized by taking on new opportunities to fully realize our vision for ebooks.” According to re/code, several Oyster employees have joined Google Books.
The company did not say exactly when its service will be closed completely. Customers will be getting emailed about their accounts in the next few weeks, but will operate normally in the meantime. The company is open to refunds for anyone that wants out sooner.