Microsoft has recently made a decision that raises questions regarding the future of its very own Microsoft Store. The Office productivity suite can no longer be installed from the Microsoft Store, and even though the built-in apps, like Word and Excel, are still listed in the Store, the download is served through the click-to-run installer. In other words, when loading the Microsoft Office product page in the Microsoft Store, all the information is still there, but when clicking the install button, users are redirected to the web where they need to download and run the classic installer. Goodbye, Microsoft Store?The reason is not known at this point, but by the looks of things, it’s something that Microsoft made on purpose. And what’s worse is that it doesn’t seem to be a change that the company plans to reverse at some point in the future.
“People will continue to be able to find Office in the Store. If the Office image isn’t already preinstalled, they will be directed to https://account.microsoft.com/ to install it,” the firm says. Users running Windows 10 in S Mode, which is restricted to Microsoft Store apps, can also install the productivity use with the click-to-run installer, with the process going through just like on regular Windows. Microsoft’s decision to pull its very own productivity suite from the Microsoft Store makes many believe that this is the first major step the company makes to actually kill off the Store altogether. It’s not a secret that the Microsoft Store isn’t necessarily a successful effort, and the push for UWP apps on Windows 10 has more or less failed until now. With Microsoft trying to focus on products that make sense and bring home the bacon, retiring the Microsoft Store is something that sounds good in the long term, so if this is indeed the plan, expect further changes on this front in the coming months.
Read More
