Microsoft Store
Digital distribution platform for Microsoft Windows
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| June 30 2023 | Microsoft ceased providing app updates for Windows Store on Windows 8.1 after this date. |
| January 10 2023 | Windows 8.1 Update reached the end of its extended support, marking a significant transition for the Microsoft Store platform. |
| 2021 | With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft announced major changes to the Microsoft Store, including allowing third-party payment platforms and third-party storefronts like Amazon Appstore and Epic Games Store to be downloaded through the store. |
| 2021 | The Microsoft Store reached 669,000 available apps, with the largest categories being Books and Reference, Education, Entertainment, and Games. |
| October 8 2020 | Microsoft announced ten principles of fairness for developers in the Microsoft Store, addressing concerns about anticompetitive practices in the wake of Epic Games' lawsuits against Apple and Google. |
| July 1 2019 | Microsoft stopped providing app updates for Windows 8 RTM users through the Windows Store. |
| May 2019 | Microsoft abandoned its exclusive distribution strategy for Microsoft Studios games on PC, due to criticism of UWP-based game limitations and a desire to sell games on competing platforms like Steam. |
| April 2 2019 | Microsoft announced the termination of e-book sales on the Microsoft Store. Due to non-renewal of DRM licenses, all purchased e-books would become inaccessible by July 2019, with Microsoft providing automatic refunds to all book purchasers. |
| 2018 | With Windows 10 version 1803, Microsoft added the ability to download and install fonts directly from the Microsoft Store. |
| February 2018 | Microsoft announced the addition of Progressive Web Apps to the Microsoft Store, with plans to automatically add selected quality web apps through Bing crawler or allow developer submissions. |
| December 31 2017 | Digital music distribution was discontinued in the Microsoft Store. |
| October 2 2017 | Microsoft announced the cessation of digital music sales on the Microsoft Store, with the Groove Music Pass to be discontinued by December 31. Users were given the option to transfer their music to Spotify until January 31, 2018. |
| September 2017 | Microsoft rebranded the Windows Store as Microsoft Store, introducing a new icon with the Microsoft logo and merging the Xbox Store into the platform as part of their platform convergence strategy. |
| June 2017 | Spotify became available in the Windows Store, expanding the platform's digital content offerings. |
| 2016 | Microsoft Studios began exclusively distributing its ported PC games through the Microsoft Store. |
| January 12 2016 | Microsoft ended support for the RTM version of Windows 8, with implications for the Windows Store's functionality for early Windows 8 users. |
| 2015 | Over 669,000 apps were available on the Microsoft Store, spanning Windows NT, Windows Phone, and UWP platforms, with the largest app categories being Games, Entertainment, Books and Reference, and Education. |
| January 1 2015 | Microsoft changed its revenue sharing model, adjusting the commission structure for app developers. |
| December 2012 | Microsoft amended its content guidelines to remove discrepancies in PEGI 18-rated content restrictions in Europe, making the store's content policies more consistent. |
| February 2012 | Windows Store became available with the release of the Windows 8 'Consumer Preview'. |
| September 13 2011 | Microsoft first announced the Windows Store digital distribution service at the Build developer conference, revealing plans for a platform to distribute certified traditional Windows apps and 'Metro-style' apps with strict quality and design guidelines. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article Microsoft Store, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.