Microsoft's new app store offers better revenue share than rivals
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Microsoft has unveiled Windows Store, the new app market for its smartphone and tablet operating systems, which will give developers of popular applications a better revenue share than its rivals Apple and Google.
Like its competitors, Microsoft will take 30% from an app’s purchases until it reaches sales of $25,000 (£15,994), at which point the revenue split will change to an 80-20 split.
The company hopes the move will encourage more brands and developers to create popular paid-for apps on its platform, rather than its rivals.
Antoine Leblond, vice President of Windows web services, says: “There’s perhaps no more material expression of our commitment to the economic viability of Windows developers than the amount of money the Store will generate for developers…We intend to offer the industry’s best terms, so that the best apps make developers a lot more money on Windows than on any other platform.”
Windows Store will be powered by Bing search to make it easier for users to find their desired apps. Lack of easy navigation is a complaint often raised by users about Android’s Market.
The Store will also feature free previews, allow users to make in-app purchases and offer developers choice about the ad format that works best for them, a model currently not available on Apple’s platform.
Apps purchased via the Store, which will be available from February, will be seamlessly integrated between Windows PCs and Windows 8 tablets.
Launch app partners include eBay, Disney and The Daily Telegraph.
Yesterday (6 December) Google’s Android marked its 10 billionth app download, while Apple announced that it had reached 15 billion app downloads in July.
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Readers' comments (1)
Matthew Phelan | Wed, 7 Dec 2011 5:02 pm
Smart move on the 70:30 shift to 80:20 at $25,000 but this can easily be copied by Google and Apple. Bit overcooked saying it is “The most significant developer opportunity ever”. Looking forward to see how this performs over the next 12 months as Microsoft do still have massive reach.
My concern is that in many cases people are bored of Microsoft and their brand is too corporate to fill their potential in this area. I have no doubt they will make money on this but what I am interested in is how much market share they can take
Matthew Phelan
Director
4Ps Marketing
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