A New Era for Developers: Microsoft Waives App Publishing Fees

Microsoft has announced that, beginning today, individual developers will no longer be charged any fees for publishing applications through the Microsoft Store, removing costs for registration, hosting, or digital signing. Developers may now submit a wide range of applications, including Win32 apps such as .NET WPF and WinForms, UWP apps, PWAs, .NET MAUI apps, and Electron apps, provided they are packaged in the MSIX format.

For security reasons, Microsoft will provide digital signing services at no cost, strengthening trust and safeguarding the ecosystem, and the Store will handle automatic updates so users are upgraded to new versions without manual intervention. For non-gaming applications, individual developers are free to implement their own in-app payment systems and retain 100% of the revenue, while enterprise developers and game publishers will continue under the existing revenue policies.

According to a senior Microsoft product manager, developers will not need a credit card to get started, as the aim is to create a more inclusive and accessible platform within the Windows ecosystem.