56-473: The Microsoft Store (formerly known as the Windows Store ) is a digital distribution platform operated by Microsoft . It was created as an app store for Windows 8 as the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform apps . With Windows 10 1803 , Microsoft merged its other distribution platforms ( Windows Marketplace , Windows Phone Store , Xbox Music , Xbox Video , Xbox Store , and
112-541: A DVD . Some companies, such as Bookmasters Distribution, which invested US$ 4.5 million in upgrading its equipment and operating systems, have had to direct capital toward keeping up with the changes in technology. The phenomenon of books going digital has given users the ability to access their books on handheld digital book readers. One benefit of electronic book readers is that they allow users to access additional content via hypertext links. These electronic book readers also give users portability for their books since
168-440: A 30% cut of app sales until it reached US$ 25,000 in revenue, after which the cut dropped to 20%. On January 1, 2015, the reduction in cut at $ 25,000 was removed, and Microsoft takes a 30% cut of all app purchases, regardless of overall sales. As of August 1, 2021, Microsoft only takes a 12% cut of app sales. Third-party transactions are also allowed, of which Microsoft does not take a cut. In 2015, over 669,000 apps were available on
224-468: A Web-based storefront called "Microsoft Store". Microsoft first announced Windows Store, a digital distribution service for Windows at its presentation during the Build developer conference on September 13, 2011. Further details announced during the conference revealed that the store would be able to hold listings for both certified traditional Windows apps, as well as what were called "Metro-style apps" at
280-599: A desire to also sell games on competing storefronts such as Steam . The new Xbox app subsequently became the main frontend for PC games available via Microsoft Store, and also integrates subscription service PC Game Pass . Movies and television shows are available for purchase or rental, depending on availability. Content can be played on the Microsoft Movies & TV app (available for Windows 10, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox X/S), or Xbox Video app (available for Windows 8/RT PCs and tablets, and Windows Phone 8). In
336-405: A major publisher of science fiction and fantasy books, started to sell e-books DRM-free by July 2012. One year later the publisher stated that they will keep this model as removing DRM was not hurting their digital distribution ebook business. Smaller e-book publishers such as O'Reilly Media , Carina Press and Baen Books had already forgone DRM previously. Online distribution is changing
392-432: A reader can hold multiple books depending on the size of its hard drive . Companies that are able to adapt and make changes to capitalize on the digital media market have seen sales surge. Vice President of Perseus Books Group stated that since shifting to electronic books (e-books), it saw sales rise by 68% . Independent Publishers Group experienced a sales boost of 23% in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Tor Books ,
448-574: A retailer is the Canadian music chain Sam the Record Man ; the company blamed online distribution for having to close a number of its traditional retail venues in 2007–08. One main reason that sales took such a big hit was that unlicensed downloads of music were very accessible. With copyright infringement affecting sales, the music industry realized it needed to change its business model to keep up with
504-673: A user's request, or "on-demand", rather than allowing a user to store it permanently. In contrast, fully downloading content to a hard drive or other forms of storage media may allow offline access in the future. Specialist networks known as content delivery networks help distribute content over the Internet by ensuring both high availability and high performance. Alternative technologies for content delivery include peer-to-peer file sharing technologies. Alternatively, content delivery platforms create and syndicate content remotely, acting like hosted content management systems . Unrelated to
560-493: A web storefront also known as "Microsoft Store") into Microsoft Store, making it a unified distribution point for apps, console games , and digital videos . Digital music was included until the end of 2017, and E-books were included until 2019. As with other similar platforms, such as the Google Play and Mac App Store , Microsoft Store is curated, and apps must be certified for compatibility and content. In addition to
616-422: Is gog.com which has a strict non-DRM policy while most other services allow various (strict or less strict) forms of DRM. Digital distribution is also more eco-friendly than physical. Optical discs are made of polycarbonate plastic and aluminum . The creation of 30 of them requires the use of 300 cubic feet of natural gas , two cups of oil and 24 gallons of water. The protective cases for an optical disc
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#1732773090072672-416: Is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a known carcinogen . A general issue is the large number of incompatible data formats in which content is delivered, possibly restricting the devices that may be used, or making data conversion necessary. Streaming services can have several drawbacks: requiring a constant Internet connection to use content; the restriction of some content to never be stored locally;
728-579: Is the delivery or distribution of digital media content such as audio , video , e-books , video games , and other software . The term is generally used to describe distribution over an online delivery medium, such as the Internet , thus bypassing physical distribution methods, such as paper , optical discs , and VHS videocassettes. The term online distribution is typically applied to freestanding products; downloadable add-ons for other products are more commonly known as downloadable content . With
784-589: The App-V system to allow sandboxing . In February 2018, Microsoft announced that Progressive Web Apps would begin to be available in the Microsoft Store, and Microsoft would automatically add selected quality progressive web apps through the Bing crawler or allow developers to submit Progressive Web Apps to the Microsoft Store. Starting from Windows 10 version 1803, fonts can be downloaded and installed from
840-519: The EdgeHTML -based Microsoft Edge . The ability to open ePub e-books was removed during the shift to the Chromium -based Microsoft Edge. On April 2, 2019, Microsoft announced that the sale of e-books on the Microsoft Store had ceased. Due to DRM licenses that would not be renewed, all books became inaccessible by July 2019, and Microsoft automatically refunded all users that had purchased books via
896-674: The Windows 8.1 Update reached the end of its extended support on January 10, 2023, excluding some Embedded editions, as well its server equivalent, Windows Server 2012 R2 . Windows 10 was released with an updated version of the Windows Store, which merged Microsoft's other distribution platforms ( Windows Marketplace , Windows Phone Store , Xbox Video and Xbox Music ) into a unified store front for Windows 10 on all platforms, offering apps, games, music, film, TV series, themes, and ebooks. In June 2017, Spotify became available in
952-577: The IPs you signed, your art direction would not change, and so on. Now it's the opposite extreme: we can put something up on Steam, deliver it to people all around the world, make changes. We can take more interesting risks.[...] Retail doesn't know how to deal with those games. On Steam [a digital distributor] there's no shelf-space restriction. Since the 2000s, there has been an increasing number of smaller and niche titles available and commercially successful, e.g. remakes of classic games. The new possibility of
1008-403: The Microsoft Store. In Windows 11 , Microsoft Store received an updated user interface, and a new pop-up designed to handle installation links from websites. Microsoft also announced a number of changes to its policies for application submissions to improve flexibility and make the store more "open", including supporting "any kind of app, regardless of app framework and packaging technology", and
1064-607: The United States, a Microsoft account can be linked to the Movies Anywhere digital locker service (separate registration required), which allows purchased content to be played on other platforms (e.g. MacOS, Android, iOS). Microsoft Movies & TV is currently available in the following 21 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
1120-539: The United States, and the United Kingdom. The purchase of TV shows is not currently supported in Belgium. On October 2, 2017, Microsoft announced that the sale of digital music on the Microsoft Store would cease on December 31 after the discontinuation of Groove Music Pass. Users were able to transfer their music to Spotify until January 31, 2018. Books bought from the Microsoft Store were formerly accessible on
1176-546: The Windows Store. In September 2017, Microsoft began to re-brand Windows Store as Microsoft Store, with a new icon carrying the Microsoft logo. Xbox Store was merged into this new version of the platform. This is in line with Microsoft's platform convergence strategy on all Windows 10 -based operating systems. Web apps and traditional desktop software can be packaged for distribution on Windows Store. Desktop software distributed through Windows Store are packaged using
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#17327730900721232-510: The ability for apps to automatically update was also added. Windows 8.1 Update also introduced other notable presentation changes, including increasing the top app lists to return 1000 apps instead of 100 apps, a "picks for you" section, and changing the default sorting for reviews to be by "most popular". Updates to apps published on the Store after June 30, 2023, are no longer available to Windows 8.1 . Per Microsoft lifecycle policies,
1288-552: The ability for developers to freely use first- or third-party payment platforms (in non-game software only) rather than those provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Store is not installed by default in Windows Server 2012 or later versions of Windows Server. Apps that would normally be available in the Store can be installed through sideloading . Microsoft Store is the primary means of distributing Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps to users. Sideloading apps from outside
1344-497: The above, the term "digital distribution" is also used in film distribution to describe the distribution of content through physical digital media, in opposition to distribution by analog media such as photographic film and magnetic tape (see: digital cinema ). The rise of online distribution has provided controversy for the traditional business models and resulted in challenges as well as new opportunities for traditional retailers and publishers. Online distribution affects all of
1400-426: The advancement of network bandwidth capabilities, online distribution became prominent in the 21st century, with prominent platforms such as Amazon Video , and Netflix 's streaming service starting in 2007. Content distributed online may be streamed or downloaded, and often consists of books , films and television programs , music , software, and video games. Streaming involves downloading and using content at
1456-467: The app developers have one app. Microsoft previously maintained a similar digital distribution system for software known as Windows Marketplace , which allowed customers to purchase software online. The marketplace tracked product keys and licenses, allowing users to retrieve their purchases when switching computers. Windows Marketplace was discontinued in November 2008. At this point, Microsoft opened
1512-532: The case of paid apps, refunds may be issued when this is done. Microsoft initially banned PEGI "18"-rated content from the store in Europe. However, critics noted that this made the content policies stricter than intended, as some PEGI 18-rated games are rated "Mature" on the U.S. ESRB system, which is the next lowest before its highest rating, "Adults Only". The guidelines were amended in December 2012 to remove
1568-487: The content owner directly or from third-party services. YouTube , Netflix , Hulu , Vudu , Amazon Prime Video , DirecTV , SlingTV and other Internet-based video services allow content owners to let users access their content on computers, smartphones, tablets or by using appliances such as video game consoles, set-top boxes or Smart TVs . Many film distributors also include a Digital Copy , also called Digital HD, with Blu-ray disc , Ultra HD Blu-ray , 3D Blu-ray or
1624-715: The digital distribution stimulated also the creation of game titles of very small video game producers like Independent game developer and Modders (e.g. Garry's Mod ), which were before not commercially feasible. The years after 2004 saw the rise of many digital distribution services on the PC, such as Amazon Services , Desura , GameStop , Games for Windows – Live , Impulse , Steam , Origin , Battle.net , Direct2Drive , GOG.com , Epic Games Store and GamersGate . The offered properties differ significantly: while most of these digital distributors do not allow reselling of bought games, Green Man Gaming allows this. Another example
1680-435: The discrepancy. On October 8, 2020, Microsoft announced a commitment to ten "principles" of fairness to developers in the operation of the Microsoft Store. These include transparency over its rules, practices, and Windows' "interoperability interfaces", not preventing competing application storefronts to run on Windows, charging developers "reasonable fees" and not "forc[ing]" them to include in-app purchases, allowing access to
1736-478: The jurisdiction, religion or norms of the target market. They may also not encourage, facilitate or glamorize violence, drugs, tobacco, alcohol and weapons. Video game console emulators that are "primarily gaming experiences or target Xbox One" and third-party web browsers that use their own layout engines , are prohibited on Microsoft Store. Microsoft has indicated that it can remotely disable or remove apps from end-user systems for security or legal reasons; in
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1792-523: The leading reason for the cold reception of the store. Phil Spencer , head of Microsoft's gaming division, has also opined that Microsoft Store "sucks". As a result, Office was removed as an installable app from the store, and made to redirect to its website. Malware had also made their way into the store masquerading as popular games. Digital distribution platform Digital distribution , also referred to as content delivery , online distribution , or electronic software distribution , among others,
1848-424: The rapidly changing technology. The step that was taken to move the music industry into the online space has been successful for several reasons. The development of lossy audio compression file formats such as MP3 could take 30 MB for a typical 3-minute song and bring it down to 3 MB without any serious loss of quality. Lossless FLAC files can be up to six times larger than an MP3 while, in comparison,
1904-424: The redesign a greater emphasis was placed on downloadable software instead of boxed software and hardware. In less than two years since the original launch, Microsoft tripled the software purchasable by download to 60,000 and expanded all products offered to over 150,000. The Digital Locker initiative also attempted to unify all software licenses into a central location tied to a single Windows Live ID. This version of
1960-521: The restriction of content from being transferred to physical media ; and the enabling of greater censorship at the discretion of owners of content, infrastructure, and consumer devices. Decades after the launch of the World Wide Web , in 2019 businesses were still adapting to the evolving world of distributing content digitally—even regarding the definition and understanding of basic terminology. Windows Marketplace Windows Marketplace
2016-474: The rise of music streaming services . In 2017, physical formats overtook downloading again for the first time in six years, but despite the vinyl revival and CDs holding its own, the physical formats account for only 11% revenue as of 2023, while streaming services are dominant with 84% of the US industry. Many traditional network television shows, movies and other video content is now available online, either from
2072-451: The same song might require 30–40 megabytes of storage on a CD. The smaller file size yields much greater Internet transfer speeds. The transition into the online space has boosted sales, and profit for some artists. It has also allowed for potentially lower expenses such as lower coordination costs, lower distribution costs, as well as the possibility for redistributed total profits. These lower costs have aided new artists in breaking onto
2128-623: The same standards as others on the store. The announcement came in the wake of a lawsuits against Apple, Inc. and Google LLC by Epic Games over alleged anticompetitive practices conducted by their own application stores. With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft announced that it would not require software (excluding games) distributed via Microsoft Store to use its own payment platforms, and that it will also allow third-party storefronts (such as Amazon Appstore —which will be used for its Android app support, and Epic Games Store ) to offer their clients for download via Microsoft Store. In addition to
2184-404: The scene and gaining recognition. In the past, some emerging artists have struggled to find a way to market themselves and compete in the various distribution channels. The Internet may give artists more control over their music in terms of ownership, rights, creative process, pricing, and more. In addition to providing global users with easier access to content, online stores allow users to choose
2240-567: The service to Windows Phone Store in 2012. On November 14, 2008, Microsoft announced their intention to discontinue the Digital Locker in 2009. The company phased-out Windows Marketplace, and replaced it with the Microsoft Store . At the Build conference on September 13, 2011, Microsoft announced Windows Store , a new software distribution platform for Windows 8 , WinRT , and subsequent Windows versions. The Windows Store
2296-413: The service. Similar to Windows Phone Store , Microsoft Store is regulated by Microsoft. Applicants must obtain Microsoft's approval before their app becomes available on the store. These apps may not contain, support or approve, gratuitous profanity, obscenity, pornography, discrimination, defamation, or politically offensive content. They may also not contain contents that are forbidden by or offensive to
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2352-669: The site was Microsoft's first offering of a full operating system, Windows Vista as a downloadable purchase; in addition to the first for Microsoft Office . On February 16, 2009 at the Mobile World Congress , Microsoft announced Windows Marketplace for Mobile which deployed a similar concept to Windows Mobile devices. Marketplace for Mobile was shut down on May 22, 2012. A year after Microsoft introduced Windows Marketplace for Mobile, they announced their next generation mobile platform named Windows Phone . Microsoft introduced Windows Phone Marketplace in 2010, and renamed
2408-512: The software license allows. For software developers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace was for the distribution of their software titles. A Windows Vista Ultimate Extra , called Secure Online Key Backup allowed backing up EFS recovery certificates, as well as the BitLocker recovery password in the Digital Locker. Windows Marketplace was only available for residents of the United States and some other countries. Windows Marketplace
2464-400: The songs they wish instead of having to purchase an entire album from which there may only be one or two titles that the buyer enjoys. The number of downloaded single tracks rose from 160 million in 2004 to 795 million in 2006, which accounted for a revenue boost from US$ 397 million to US$ 2 billion. Downloading peaked in the US in 2012, after which it started falling due to
2520-627: The store after July 1, 2019, are no longer available to Windows 8 RTM users. Per Microsoft lifecycle policies, the RTM version of Windows 8 has been unsupported since January 12, 2016, excluding some Embedded editions, as well its server equivalent, Windows Server 2012 . An updated version of Windows Store was introduced in Windows ;8.1 . Its home page was remodeled to display apps in focused categories (such as popular, recommended, top free and paid, and special offers) with expanded details, while
2576-470: The store by any developer as long as their software meets "objective standards and requirements", not blocking apps based on their business model, how it delivers its services, or how it processes payments, not impeding developers from "communicating directly with their users through their apps for legitimate business purposes", not using private data from the store to influence the development of competing for software by Microsoft, and holding its own software to
2632-537: The store is supported on Windows 10 on an opt-in basis, but Windows 8 only allows sideloading to be enabled if the device is running the Enterprise edition of Windows 8 on a domain . Sideloading on Windows RT , Windows 8 Pro, and on Windows 8 Enterprise computers without a domain affiliation, requires the purchase of additional licenses through volume licensing . Individual developers are able to register for US$ 19 and companies for US$ 99. Initially, Microsoft took
2688-841: The store, including apps for Windows NT , Windows Phone , and UWP apps, which work on both platforms. Categories containing the largest number of apps are "Games", "Entertainment", "Books and Reference", and "Education". The majority of the app developers have one app. Both free and paid apps can be distributed through Microsoft Store, with paid apps ranging in cost from US$ 0.99 to $ 999.99. Developers from 120 countries can submit apps to Microsoft Store. Apps may support any of 109 languages, as long as they support one of 12 app certification languages. From 2016 to 2019, most Microsoft Studios games ported to PC were distributed exclusively via Microsoft Store. Microsoft later abandoned this strategy in May 2019, amid criticism of limitations faced by UWP-based games, and
2744-490: The structure of the video game industry . Gabe Newell , creator of the digital distribution service Steam , formulated the advantages over physical retail distribution as such: The worst days [for game development] were the cartridge days for the NES. It was a huge risk – you had all this money tied up in silicon in a warehouse somewhere, and so you'd be conservative in the decisions you felt you could make, very conservative in
2800-547: The time: tightly- sandboxed software based on Microsoft design guidelines that are constantly monitored for quality and compliance. For consumers, Windows Store is intended to be the only way to obtain Metro-style apps. While announced alongside the "Developer Preview" release of Windows 8 , Windows Store itself did not become available until the "Consumer Preview", released in February 2012. Updates to apps published on
2856-473: The traditional media markets, including music, press, and broadcasting. In Britain, the iPlayer , a software application for streaming television and radio, accounts for 5% of all bandwidth used in the United Kingdom . The move towards online distribution led to a dip in sales in the 2000s; CD sales were nearly cut in half around this time. One such example of online distribution taking its toll on
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#17327730900722912-553: The user facing Microsoft Store client, the store also has a developer portal with which developers can interact. The Windows developer portal has the following sections for each app: Microsoft Store provides developer tools for tracking apps in the store. The dashboard also presents a detailed breakdown of users by market, age, and region, as well as charts on the number of downloads, purchases, and average time spent in an app. Microsoft Store has widely received negative reviews since its inception. Unavailability of popular apps has been
2968-467: The user-facing Microsoft Store client, the store has a developer portal with which developers can interact. Microsoft takes 5–15% of the sale price for apps and 30% on Xbox games. Prior to January 1, 2015, this cut was reduced to 20% after the developer's profits reached $ 25,000. In 2021, 669,000 apps were available in the store. Categories containing the largest number of apps are "Books and Reference", "Education", "Entertainment", and "Games". The majority of
3024-445: Was a Microsoft platform for the delivery of software electronically that was secured by use of Windows Live ID (now known as a Microsoft account). The digital locker platform was composed of four major components: For consumers, the digital locker and Windows Marketplace could be used for purchasing and downloading third party software titles compatible with Microsoft Windows , and then using that purchased software on any computer
3080-488: Was an attempt to centralize that. An emphasis was placed on software designed to Microsoft's API requirements and user experience recommendations with certified software carrying the Designed-for-Windows logo surpassing 10,000 at store launch. CNET was a major initial partner, supplying Microsoft with the majority of the pricing and description information. The site was redesigned on August 28, 2006. During
3136-427: Was announced on July 12, 2004; and launched on October 12, 2004. It provided over 93,000 products split between hardware, boxed software, and downloadable software. About 20,000 downloads were available and 5,000 were free. The site was designed to allow product comparison, purchase and discussion from one central location. Research had shown the average customer used over 20 sites when making purchases and Marketplace
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