Yesterday, it was announced by Microsoft that individual developers will no longer to need to pay to publish their apps on the Microsoft Store for PC as of June 2025, with the company waiving the fee of $19 that they're currently charged.
Microsoft says that it's "creating a more inclusive and accessible platform that empowers more developers to innovate, share and thrive on the Windows ecosystem", and it's the first global digital storefront to waive this fee.
"Starting later next month, individual developers will be able to publish apps to the Microsoft Store without paying any onboarding fees – making it the first global digital storefront to eliminate such charges. Developers will no longer need a credit card to get started, removing a key point of friction that has affected many creators around the world. By eliminating these one-time fees, Microsoft is creating a more inclusive and accessible platform that empowers more developers to innovate, share and thrive on the Windows ecosystem."
At first glance this reads like it's mainly a PC thing, but it might have a big impact on Xbox as well. As you may have heard, Xbox also charges a fee for developers to sign up and start creating games, and it's actually the same fee that works across PC and Xbox consoles. In other words, by eliminating the fee on PC, it would seem that individual Xbox developers won't need to pay anything in order to access Xbox developer mode in the future.
The other thing it's going to be beneficial for is the Xbox handheld. With ASUS bringing a Windows-based handheld to market very soon, the ability for more developers to publish their apps on the Microsoft Store should provide access to more apps than ever on PC - great news for Xbox handheld owners and PC owners in general!
Anyway, we'll have to see how this all pans out on the Xbox side of things when June rolls around, but for now, more details can be found about Microsoft's new "Windows app developer" announcements on the official Microsoft website.