14 DAY TRIAL // With the new owners announced just last week, Skype is already starting to make changes, but that doesn't always mean they're for the better. In fact, the first move is to axe Skype's effort to create a third-party app environment that the Skype Extras Developer Program launched with much enthusiasm a couple of years ago. The company says that the program never gained any real popularity with users, making it take the decision to stop supporting any new apps. Existing “Extras” will still be available until they expire.
“For many years, the Skype Developer Program has offered a wide range of tools that allow third-party developers to create hardware and software that work with Skype. Many innovative applications have been developed and distributed over the years and we feel fortunate to have worked with some of the best developers anywhere,” Antoine Bertout announced on the Skype developers blog.
“Despite the incredible breadth of Extras developed for Skype, simply not enough people were using them to justify our continued support of the Extras programme. Unfortunately, effective today, we will shut down the Skype Extras programme.”
No new third-party apps will be approved for the program but existing ones will continue to be supported until they expire. Some apps in the Extras program are commercial ones so Skype is giving them a window of time to clear things out. Developers will be allowed to continue to use Skype Credit exactly two more months. As of January 25, Skype will shut down the third-party shop.
Developers that still want to create apps for Skype will be able to do so using the public API, which will still be supported. But it does mean that Skype won't actively promote any third-party app and developers won't be able to use the company's shop to sell them. It could also mean that the company may plan to integrate some of the more popular features offered by third-party apps into the core software. Skype's close to 500 million users will still be able to use the existing Extras.