Microsoft has decided to cut down on its own share of the revenue it earns through apps and in-app purchases on its Microsoft Store from 30% to just 5%. But this will apply only to non-gaming apps. Gaming apps will continue to be governed by the 70%:30% sharing in favor of the developers.
Microsoft used its annual event Build 2018, developers’ conference to make this announcement. This decision has possible been driven by the drop in interest among developers to develop apps for its store and the company is hoping that this 95% share of the revenue might spur more developers to work on and submit apps for Windows.
One more stipulation that Microsoft has placed is if the customer has come through the marketing channels of Microsoft Store, then the revenue sharing ratio will be 85% to the developer and 15% to Microsoft.
The operating systems covered under this new revenue sharing formula include Windows 10, Windows 8.x and/or Windows Phone 8.x, Windows Mixed Reality, Windows Phone and Surface Hub. This practically covers all platforms except the X-box consoles, because only gaming apps are downloaded there.
The revised revenue sharing regime may be implemented from later this year.
Looking at what the other tech giant rivals of Microsoft are practicing, Google had also made a revision in its policy and changed the ratio to 85%:15%. However, the developers have to hold on to the customer for a minimum period of 1 year as a subscriber for the app. If they fail to do so and the user quits the app before the 12-month period, then the ratio will reverse to 70:30. Apple has an identical 12-month formula and the same ratios of 85:15 and 70:30 as Google follows, with a slight twist. The developer gets 70:30 for the first 12 months, and 85:15 thereafter.
Hopefully, the developer community will take these increases sportingly and many more of them will join the fun and enjoy the benefits. The ultimate user is the winner in all this.