14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is continuously looking into ways to bring more high-quality apps and games in the Windows Store, so the company today announced a new campaign for developers creating Unity games for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone.
Basically, the software giant is now offering incentives to all those who decide to bring Unity games in the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store, with two levels of benefits currently provided.
“Unity makes it easy for you. Now Microsoft is sweetening the deal for the talented and committed Unity developers who want to bring their existing Unity titles to Windows Store and Windows Phone,” Microsoft said in an announcement today.
“With a new incentive offer, Microsoft is supporting the creation and launch of the best made-with-Unity games and apps on Windows Phone/Windows Store. The new offer helps to clear the way for talented and committed Unity developers to reach millions of new players and users.”
The incentive offer also has a few requirements, so only developers using Unity 4 for their games and apps can apply. In addition, “applicants are required to have experience with shipping games and apps on mobile platforms,” while existing games already listed in the store need to have at least 3-star ratings and a “significant amount of downloads.”
As mentioned, there are two different levels of benefits, as follows:
Level 1:
Free Dev Center account for Windows and Windows Phone stores Free Microsoft Windows 8 Pro License 1 Developer device (phone or tablet) Priority review for store promotion
Level 2:
Level 1 benefits + the following 1,000,000 impressions ad package on Adduplex 1 more Developer device (phone or tablet) Feature placement on the Windows made with Unity Gallery Access to technical assistance
Unity has recently revealed that there are more than 2,000 games in the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store created with its own platform, which confirms that more developers are making the move to this particular development solution.
“Last November I shared with you that we’d surpassed 1000 games made with Unity across Windows Store and Windows Phone. Well, it looks like the momentum in the Unity developer community continues to grow, with more than 2000 games now available in our stores!” JC Cimetiere, director, Partner Developer Marketing at Microsoft, said in a blog post.
At this point, there are more than 145,000 apps in the Windows Store, and figures are very likely to grow as more developers port their apps to Windows 8.1 and Microsoft continues efforts to make more tools available for download for users of its new OS version.