The Windows Dev Team is rolling out several updates for how developers work within the Windows Dev Center including a new age rating system, new app promotion and monetization opportunities and updates to the Windows developer agreement
New Simplified Age Rating Process
In December Microsoft will begin the rollout of a new process to simplify obtaining age ratings for app and game submissions. Currently developers must self-select a Windows Store age rating, and then obtain and add all of the individual market-specific age ratings.
With the new simplified age rating system, based on the IARC global rating and age classification system, developers will be prompted to answer questions in Dev Center and the answers will automatically generate all the age ratings an app needs for submission to the Windows Store.
The new IARC system will be rolled out in beta in December for preview, with full migration starting at the beginning of 2016. The Dev Team has provided a list of the IARC questions to help familiarize developers with the material prior to the changes.
Increase in Pricing Tiers
The Dev Center has doubled the number of prices available for apps and in-app products. There are now almost 200 prices available between $0.99 USD and $999.99USD (or equivalent in different currencies). Also the price values for a number of markets (including Russia, Brazil and others) have been updated to account for foreign exchange rate fluctuations.
More Ways to Promote and Monetize Apps
Windows developers can now utilize a unifying ‘Get it’ badge for use on an app’s website and in other communications to show customers that an app or game is in the Windows Store. The store also now supports badges specifically designed to promote new apps or games optimized for Windows 10.
Developers can also monetize these badges through the Microsoft Affiliate Program, which allows them to earn a commission on any app or game sale that is generated from a customer clicking on the badge on a web site or in communications.
App Discovery Updates
The Windows Store has added several new capabilities to help app users more easily find apps and games to purchase including:
- “Top grossing” list optimized to drive attention to the most successful apps that generate revenue through both paid and in-app purchase.
- Most frequently acquired in-app products appear on the app description page, showing potential customers the IAPs available in an app.
- Strikethrough discounted pricing displays automatically in the Windows Store when scheduled price promotions are used to put an app on sale to help drive customer attention to this reduced price.
- List with all the apps from a developer, shown when clicking on the developer name in the page description for any app.
- Streamlined purchase experience, through an option to remove the requirement to always enter the Microsoft account email and password with every purchase:
New Microsoft Advertising Content
The Microsoft Advertising content, previously available via the pubCenter site, is now available via the new Dev Center app monetization and promotion pages, making the content easier to access by integrating with the Dev Center experience.
Updated App Developer Agreement
The App Developer Agreement has been updated to reflect several recent Dev Center changes including how an app that uses Microsoft Advertising targets children (in these cases Microsoft Advertising will manage targeting differently based on COPPA regulations).