14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has finally addressed one the most recent controversies regarding its products, as the company confirmed that paid open-source apps will feel at home on the Microsoft Store.
The whole saga started a few weeks ago when Microsoft updated the Microsoft Store policies to state that paid open-source apps were not allowed on the store.
At some level, this made sense, as the software giant was trying to increase the security offered to users who download apps from the Microsoft Store, but on the other hand, the developer response has been extremely negative, to say the least.
Fast forward to this week, and after further debate, the Redmond-based company has decided to undo its original decision and is now allowing all paid open-source apps on the Microsoft Store.
Policy update now removed
The aforementioned Microsoft Store policy update has been removed, Microsoft’s Giorgio Sardo explained on Twitter.
“Last month, we shared a few updates to Microsoft Store policies to help protect customers from misleading product listings. We heard your feedback, and today we made a change to policy 10.8.7 and 11.2,” Sardo explained.
“To clarify our intent, we removed the previous mention to open source pricing. We're committed to building an open Store and enabling dev choice and flexibility. If there are intellectual property concerns about an app, please report it. There are many great free and paid OSS apps in the Microsoft Store, and we look forward to welcoming more.”
Going forward, the paid open-source apps should feel at home on the Microsoft Store, and without a doubt, this is good news for developers who are investing in such applications. At the same time, it’s also making the Microsoft Store the one place for all software, a concept that Microsoft itself has been aiming for since the debut of Windows 8.