Announced today on the Windows Developer blog, Microsoft will be removing all onboarding fees and other associated charges with regards to enrolling as a developer for the Microsoft Store later next month. This means that “Individual” developers will now be able to ship applications on the Microsoft Storefront without a credit card, making it one of the first global digital storefronts to do so. As the company writes:
Starting later next month, individual developers will be able to publish apps to the Microsoft Store without paying any onboarding fees – making it the first global digital storefront to eliminate such charges. Developers will no longer need a credit card to get started, removing a key point of friction that has affected many creators around the world. By eliminating these one-time fees, Microsoft is creating a more inclusive and accessible platform that empowers more developers to innovate, share and thrive on the Windows ecosystem. Visit https://aka.ms/microsoftstoredeveloper to get started.
Company accounts will still incur a fee. But this means that anyone with access to a functioning Windows 10/11 device and an Xbox console can begin using the console’s built-in developer mode to run and create unsigned applications. Of course, this also means that the Microsoft Store can now be a greater haven as a package repository for software that is commonly downloaded on PC via browsers (good examples like this are GIMP and Mp3tag).
Microsoft also details an improved discovery, delivery, and user acquisition changes in the full blog post—check that out here. For more details on Xbox’s developer mode and app publishing, click over here to learn more. Developer mode has been mentioned in the past by the gaming community as a way to run emulation software on consoles and that still holds true, but if you did want to create an app for Xbox consoles, do note that the hardware still only runs the deprecated UWP application platform, which can limit what you can do with your software. Games will still need to be run through the appropriate channels to be able to be published on the console storefront as well.
