If for some reason you’re inexplicably working on a Windows 8 app despite the OS no longer being sold and having limited support, you’d best get a move on. Microsoft has announced that it will stop accepting new apps for the platform via the Microsoft Store on October 31.
If you also happen to be working on Windows Phone 8 apps as well, there’s a double dose of bad news: Microsoft is cutting off support there, too.
Related: Best Windows 10 apps
If you already have apps on either store and want to continue supporting your customers, you have a little longer: July 1 2019 for Windows Phone 8 updates, and July 1 2023 for Windows 8 apps – six months after the extended support period is due to end.
After that, Microsoft won’t distribute your updates.
“We encourage you to explore how you can port your existing app to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) where you can create a single Windows 10 app package that your customers can install onto all device families,” Microsoft says in a blog post revealing the upcoming deadlines.
That’s probably the main purpose of the message here: getting people onto the new and improved Windows 10 store. There aren’t that many people using Windows 8 anymore, and NetMarketShare reckons the platform has under 7% of customers worldwide.
Windows Phone 8 has an even smaller footprint, at 0.04%. But those that do make apps for Windows 8 are exactly the kind of people Microsoft wants to be making them for Windows 10.
This is just a helpful reminder that while Windows 8 may be going through a long drawn-out death rattle (again: 2023 for extended support), Windows 10 is here for the long haul. And it always needs more apps.
Do you use the Microsoft Store for Windows apps? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.