History of Microsoft Store in Timeline

The Microsoft Store is Microsoft's digital distribution platform, evolving from its initial role as an app store for Windows 8. It serves as a unified source for apps (primarily Universal Windows Platform), console games, and digital videos since the Windows 10 1803 update. While digital music and E-books were previously offered, they were discontinued in 2017 and 2019, respectively. The store centralizes Microsoft's distribution efforts.

November 2008: Windows Marketplace Discontinued; Web-Based Microsoft Store Opened

In November 2008, Microsoft discontinued Windows Marketplace, a digital distribution system for software, and opened a web-based storefront called "Microsoft Store".

September 13, 2011: Windows Store Announced

On September 13, 2011, Microsoft announced the Windows Store, a digital distribution service for Windows, at the Build developer conference.

February 2012: Windows Store availability

In February 2012, the Windows Store became available with the release of the "Consumer Preview" of Windows 8.

December 2012: PEGI 18 content guidelines amended

In December 2012, Microsoft amended its content guidelines to allow PEGI "18"-rated content in the Microsoft Store in Europe.

January 1, 2015: Microsoft Store developer revenue cut policy change

On January 1, 2015, Microsoft changed its revenue cut policy for developers on the Microsoft Store, eliminating the reduced 20% cut after a developer's profits reached $25,000, instead taking a 30% cut of all app purchases.

2015: Microsoft Store App Statistics in 2015

In 2015, the Microsoft Store offered over 669,000 apps, supporting Windows NT, Windows Phone, and UWP apps. The largest app categories were "Games", "Entertainment", "Books and Reference", and "Education".

January 12, 2016: End of support for Windows 8 RTM

Since January 12, 2016, the RTM version of Windows 8 has been unsupported, excluding some Embedded editions, as well its server equivalent, Windows Server 2012, per Microsoft lifecycle policies.

2016: Microsoft Studios games exclusively on Microsoft Store

From 2016, most Microsoft Studios games ported to PC were distributed exclusively via the Microsoft Store.

June 2017: Spotify available in Windows Store

In June 2017, Spotify became available in the Windows Store.

September 2017: Windows Store rebranded as Microsoft Store

In September 2017, Microsoft began rebranding the Windows Store as Microsoft Store, with a new icon carrying the Microsoft logo, and the Xbox Store was merged into it.

October 2, 2017: Microsoft announces the end of digital music sales

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.

2017: Digital music support ended

In 2017, digital music was included in the Microsoft Store until the end of the year.

2017: Multimedia content removal began

In 2017, the Microsoft Store started gradually phasing out multimedia content like music, books, and movies, eventually focusing solely on apps and games.

January 31, 2018: Deadline for transferring music to Spotify

On January 31, 2018, was the deadline for users to transfer their music from Groove Music Pass to Spotify.

February 2018: Progressive Web Apps available in Microsoft Store

In February 2018, Microsoft announced that Progressive Web Apps would begin to be available in the Microsoft Store. Selected PWAs added automatically or through developer submission.

April 2, 2019: Microsoft ceases e-book sales

On April 2, 2019, Microsoft announced that it had ceased the sale of e-books on the Microsoft Store.

May 2019: Microsoft abandoned exclusive PC game distribution via Microsoft Store

In May 2019, Microsoft abandoned its strategy of distributing most Microsoft Studios games ported to PC exclusively via the Microsoft Store. The new Xbox app became the main frontend for PC games.

July 1, 2019: App updates unavailable for Windows 8 RTM users

As of July 1, 2019, updates to apps published on the Microsoft Store were no longer available to Windows 8 RTM users.

July 2019: E-books became inaccessible; automatic refunds

By July 2019, all e-books became inaccessible due to DRM licenses not being renewed, and Microsoft automatically refunded all users that had purchased books via the service.

October 8, 2020: Microsoft's commitment to fairness principles for developers

On October 8, 2020, Microsoft announced a commitment to ten "principles" of fairness to developers in the operation of the Microsoft Store, following lawsuits against Apple and Google by Epic Games.

August 1, 2021: Microsoft Store Revenue Cut

As of August 1, 2021, Microsoft began taking a 12% cut of app sales on the Microsoft Store.

2021: App availability in Microsoft Store

In 2021, the Microsoft Store had 669,000 apps available, with the largest categories being "Books and Reference", "Education", "Entertainment", and "Games".