Microsoft Corp has announced that it will allow Epic Games Inc, Amazon.com Inc and other firms to integrate their app stores into the technology giant's marketplace, giving more options to third-party developers.

The technology giant says it wants to "promote innovation" and will not take a cut from app developers' revenue if they use alternative payment platforms — a major difference from Apple, which takes commissions between 15% and 30% on each App Store purchase.

The move comes as Epic Games and Apple Inc have been locked in a legal dispute since last year when the "Fortnite" creator tried to get around Apple's 30% fee on some in-app purchases on the App Store by launching its own in-app payment system.

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Senior Executives to Testify at Epic Games Trial

One caveat: The rule applies to everything except games. However, the company did lower its cut of game revenues in the Microsoft Store from 30% to 12% for PC games in August.

While the judge ruled earlier this month that Apple engaged in anticompetitive behavior, it wasn't considered a win for Epic.

  • The developer still had to pay $3.65 million for 30% of revenue to Apple.
  • Apple was not required to restore Epic's "Fortnite" to the App Store, allow third-party app stores, or lower its developer fees of 15% for companies with annual revenue under $1 million and 30% for everyone else.
  • Epic has since appealed the ruling.

"Microsoft is again leading the industry forward with Windows, now an open platform with an open store," Epic CEO Tim Sweeney tweeted.

Microsoft's more open app store policies have already had a big impact on the Microsoft Store. Popular apps like Discord, Zoom, VLC, TeamViewer, and Visual Studio Code are all now listed in the Microsoft Store. There are even Progressive Web Apps (PWA) from Reddit, Wikipedia, TikTok, Tumblr, and more. Any browser can now be listed in the Microsoft Store, too, and both Opera and Yandex Browser have taken advantage of Microsoft's new policies.