Note that MSI are already basically desired-state configuration databases. What are your thoughts on Microsoft's new Store plans? Let us know in the comments. Microsoft will likely announce its plans for the new Store at Build 2021, with a public preview following soon thereafter. I'm told that Microsoft will ship the new Store in the fall, likely alongside the Windows 10 Sun Valley update that's scheduled to launch around the same time, though I believe the new Store will be backported to older versions of Windows 10 too. This move will hopefully show end-users and developers that Microsoft is serious about its new Store platform, and that it's an important part of Windows. Interestingly, I'm hearing that with the introduction of the new Store and policies around it, Microsoft will finally bring many of its first-party apps to the Store, including Teams, Office, Edge, and even Visual Studio. These changes should allow apps like Google Chrome or Adobe Creative Cloud to be discoverable in the Store, though time will tell if these developers actually come. Apps that were turned away in the past for using their own update or in-app purchasing systems will now be allowed. Microsoft wants to position the Store as an open platform that allows for the best apps on Windows to be easily discovered by users. Microsoft is making it easier for devs to get apps into the Store with these policy changes.

I'm told that Microsoft will not take a cut from app developers who do leverage their own in-app commerce channel, which I believe would be an industry first. This change will benefit developers with apps that have a built-in auto update feature, such as Firefox or Zoom, giving them control over how and when app updates or other content types are pushed to their users.įinally, Microsoft will allow developers to use their own in-app revenue streams, bypassing Microsoft's own commerce platform entirely. MSI packages to the Store, and even allow those developers to host the app and push out updates via their own CDN. Microsoft will allow developers to submit raw. Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)

Microsoft store app