Today Microsoft unveiled some new features that will be released with the stable version of Windows 11. From now on Windows 11 Store will be available on third-party app stores.
Amazon’s App Store isn’t the only partner of the company. The Epic Games Store will be available in the Microsoft Store in the upcoming months. As promised, Microsoft won’t take a cut of revenue from these stores.
This is what the new Windows 11 App Store will look like
Unlike the classic Windows Store proposal, which since Windows 8 has confined its catalog to software developed using the universal apps API (UWP), this new version of the portal extends its offerings to traditional executables as well. With this opening, some of the first to be integrated are Discord, Zoom, VLC, TeamViewer, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, and LibreOffice, among others.
This new shop will also include Google’s Progressive web applications (PWA), which are apps that function similarly to traditional desktop software. Reddit, Wikipedia, TikTok, and Tumblr, as well as other web-based tools, can all be installed in this manner to take advantage of certain services.
There’s no mention of Steam, GOG, or other famous app and game stores. Epic is also a pioneer in this regard, which is not surprising. They are strongly opposing App Store policies as we all know. Microsoft is, as you would expect, taking advantage of this controversy. Windows 11’s store, according to Microsoft, can be pitched as a more open alternative to Apple’s Mac App Store even if Mac users have no trouble accessing the EGS or other marketplaces.
The refreshed Windows Store will be available to the general public on October 5, according to Microsoft’s announcement on its developer blog. After a few months, the new feature will be rolled out to Windows 10 on an unconfirmed date.
Microsoft launched the Windows Store to consolidate software distribution in a channel that would allow Microsoft to verify the security and integrity of its products, which later became Microsoft Store.
This new approach, which we may start to observe over the next few days, has the potential to satisfy both customers and developers, as well as Microsoft.
