As per The New York Times report, Microsoft, the American tech giant, has geared up to give developers more command in its app store.
The decision differentiates Microsoft from Apple (its competitor), which has often been criticized for exercising firm control over its own app store.
The tabloid says Microsoft is embracing ten principles for its app store, that can be deployed by enterprises to install programs on the Windows 10 operating system (OS). These guidelines will allow enterprises to sell a variety of services on Microsoft apps and websites, and will also permit access to third-party app stores.
Microsoft, over a period of time, has experience running more open apps stores compared to Apple, and hence the change is not a drastic one for the company. However, the straightforward statement made by the company adds a strong voice to the debate over how big tech firms should operate their app stores and sheds light on the number of restrictions that should be meted out. The app store works as gateways between customers and developers and has been built for businesses to earn profits.
One of the principles chosen by the tech giant enables developers to use different payment systems.
Early this year, as per a recent squabble, Microsoft criticized Apple based on its ban of Epic Games’ Fortnite app as Epic used an in-app payment system that went against Apple’s rules.
On this, Microsoft’s General Manager for Gaming Developer Experiences Kevin Gammill expressed that the loss of Epic’s Unreal Engine would have harmed companies attempting to develop new games. Gammill added, the controversy would have just been able to hurt gamers and game-makers.
Expert take
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Microsoft Rima Alaily stated in an official blog post that the idea behind the principles was to promote more choice. For example, popular alternatives such as stores from Steam and Epic also exist, and the new principles will not block apps that choose to use those stores as well.
The blog post explains how businesses that select the Microsoft Store will “face reasonable, competitive fees that reflect the value they receive and can be confident we will not use the Microsoft Store to tilt the playing field to our advantage.”
