Microsoft just made it free to publish your app
What's the story
Microsoft has announced that it will be removing developer onboarding fees for the Microsoft Store on Windows.
The announcement was made at the Build 2025 conference and will come into effect from next month.
Until now, individual developers had to pay a registration fee of around $19 to sign up and publish apps on the platform.
Competitive landscape
Microsoft's move comes amid Apple's legal challenges
Microsoft's decision to waive app publishing fees comes at a time when its competitor Apple is under intense legal pressure over some developer fees it charges on the App Store.
Unlike Microsoft, Apple still charges an annual fee of $99 from developers looking to publish their apps on its platform.
Google also charges a one-time fee of $25 for access to Google Play, its Android app store.
Fee structure
Microsoft maintains fees for developers using its commerce platform
Despite waiving onboarding fees, Microsoft has clarified it will continue charging developers using its commerce platform.
A fee of 12% for games and 15% for apps will be levied.
However, developers using their own commerce system are allowed to retain all of their revenue from non-gaming apps.
This move is aimed at incentivizing more individual developers to publish their apps on the Microsoft Store without any upfront costs.