Microsoft Store is killing open source app sales, angering developers

Update (1:50 PM ET, July 6, 2022): Giorgio Sardo, General Manager of Apps, Partners and Microsoft Store at Microsoft, has clarified the intent behind the new Microsoft Store policies. “We absolutely want to help developers successfully distribute OSS apps. In fact, there are already some great OSS apps in the Store! The purpose of this policy is to protect customers from misleading listings.” said Sardo.

What do you want to know

• The new Microsoft Store policies will take effect on July 16, 2022.
• Among the changes is a policy that will prohibit the sale of open-source and free apps through the Microsoft Store, even by the developers behind those apps.
• Developers have spoken out against the change, arguing that the policy prevents people from charging a reasonable amount for their apps.

The new Microsoft Store policies will go into effect on July 16, 2022. Rafael Rivera, an engineer and well-known member of the Windows community, highlighted some of the changes in a Twitter feed. A policy update will prohibit the sale of open source or free apps through the Microsoft Store. The change drew criticism from the developer community.

here is the exact verbiage of change (opens in a new tab):

10.8.7

Where you determine the price of your product or in-app purchases, all prices, including sales or discounts, for your digital products or services must:

• Comply with all applicable laws, regulations and regulatory guidelines, including without limitation the Federal Trade Commission Guides against misleading prices.
• Do not attempt to take advantage of open source software or other software generally available for free, or an irrationally high price in relation to the features and functionality provided by your product.

Chances are the second change is aimed at people trying to profit from the work of others. It’s relatively common for someone to take open source software that they didn’t develop and then charge for it through the Microsoft Store. These are called copycats and rely on dishonestly making money.

But there is another category of open source and free apps that appear on the Microsoft Store. In some cases, developers decide to place an app in the store for discoverability and ease of access. Krita and Paint.NET are examples, but there are many others.

“If you buy Paint.NET from the Windows Store, you will directly support its development (normally we ask for a donation),” explains the Microsoft Store entry for Paint.NET (opens in a new tab). As of July 16, 2022, this will no longer be an option for any open source or free application.

This drew criticism from the development community, including Senior Community Engineering and DevOps Manager at SUSE Hayden Barnes. He welcomed the general concept of the policy changes, but also cautioned against unintended consequences.

“I believe that the proposed changes to the Microsoft Store Open Source Apps Policy are intended to thwart copied open source apps that are repackaged by third parties and sold at absurd prices. These apps are a scourge on the Store and I support their removal. .

Microsoft is an excellent steward of the open source ecosystem, and Microsoft Store policies are significantly better than Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store for app developers and consumers.

However, I strongly encourage Microsoft to review the proposed policy as written, as it sweeps away legitimate open source applications released by official upstream projects. Revenue from Store sales supports independent open source app developers and sustainable open source projects.”

Barnes warned that the policy change could also push developers away from the Microsoft Store.

“Several existing open source projects have benefited from selling in the Store, not just copies, but upstream projects that bring value to Store consumers: WinSCP, Krita, etc. In addition to hurting these projects, it could also drive more Store apps to become an owner.”

This is a developing story, and we expect to hear from Microsoft in the near future. Jeff Wilcox, manager of the Microsoft Open Source Programs Office, recently joined discussions about the change.

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Update (1:50 PM ET, July 6, 2022): Giorgio Sardo, General Manager of Apps, Partners and Microsoft Store at Microsoft, has clarified the intent behind the new Microsoft Store policies.