Here's a big play at Build 2025: It's now free for devs to get apps or games on Microsoft Store

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Microsoft has made it free for developers to get their wares onto the Microsoft Store in Windows 11 or Windows 10.

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Hopefully the influx of apps to the Microsoft Store will put smiles on faces, but that's far from guaranteed here (Image Credit: Microsoft)

Previously, a software or game developer would have to pay a small fee to secure a spot in the Microsoft Store. That one-off payment of $19 has now been dropped, however, and it won't cost a cent to get an app on the store.

Microsoft announced this at Build 2025, noting that it is the first major digital store to make such a move. Windows Central, which flagged up this development, pointed out that Google charges $25 to get an app onto the Play Store.

Clearly, this will mean more apps and games are coming to the Microsoft Store, and there's nothing wrong with that in terms of trying to beef up the numbers on the platform.

Of course, quantity is one thing, and quality is another. What we don't want is a Microsoft Store packed full of, shall we say, more dubious offerings, as a result of this change, which seems the obvious danger here.

Microsoft has been trying hard to improve the store in recent times. We've seen quite a few performance tweaks to make the app itself more responsive, and revamps of the layout of the Microsoft Store.

Still, it remains very much an uphill battle against the giants of the world of digital platforms out there, such as Apple and Google, or Steam and Epic for games.