14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has brought fonts to the Microsoft Store to let users install them with little effort, but by the looks of things, not all of them are offered free of charge.
As German site WindowsUnited discovered, Microsoft is actually selling some of the fonts that are published in the Microsoft Store, as it’s the case of the Segoe Marker pictured here.
While charging for premium fonts is not at all unexpected, there are users out there who consider that such content should be offered free of charge since Windows 10 isn’t available free of charge anyway.
But with Microsoft’s migration to Windows as a Service, the company has changed much of its approach, and it’s become rather aggressive with controversial strategies that involve ads and forced installs.
Windows 10 launched in July 2015 as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 systems if the switch was performed in the first 12 months of availability. And while the upgrade was entirely optional, a number of computers were pushed to Windows 10 without users’ consent.
Premium fonts in the Store
This approach eventually backfired and Microsoft ended up being sued by several customers whose computers were upgraded to Windows 10 without authorization, while consumer organizations started looking into the matter to determine whether any regulations were violated.
While it’s hard to believe that Microsoft would make too much money out of fonts sold in the Microsoft Store, it could all be a good thing that the company is offering users a secure way of purchasing premium fonts without having to leave the Store.
There are lots of premium fonts out there on third-party websites, and it’ll actually be more useful if Microsoft manages to bring all of them to the Store and thus provide users with more choices. It remains to be seen how this approach will be received, especially by hardcore fans who expect Microsoft’s goodies to be all free on Windows 10.
