In 2018, Microsoft said it would start giving app developers an 85%-95% cut for non-game apps, up from 70%, but the new pricing hasn't been implemented yet
Brad Sams / Petri :
Context & Ripple Effects
In May 2018, Microsoft committed to handing non-game app developers an 85%-95% share of Store revenue, up from the long-standing 70/30 split, with the change slated for "later this year" (that original pledge). Eight months on, Petri reports the new pricing still hasn't shipped, leaving developers on the old terms while the promise sits unfulfilled.
Subsequent coverage shows the policy did land in March 2019, keeping games at 70/30 — and Microsoft kept ratcheting: by 2021 it cut its PC game take to 12% to compete with Steam, with a document filed in the Epic vs. Apple case showing a matching Xbox plan. This delay story is the first data point in that sequence.
First-order effects
- Non-game developers selling through the Microsoft Store continue operating on the 70/30 split, so the improved economics they were promised remain theoretical until the pricing actually ships.
Second-order effects
- Once implemented, an up-to-95% developer share puts Microsoft ahead of the standard 30% take its rivals charged — pressure that surfaces two years later when Google cuts Play Store fees to 15% on the first $1M per developer, explicitly following Apple's similar move.
Third-order effects
- Store take rates harden into a competitive weapon rather than a fixed industry norm: Microsoft's escalation from 85-95% for apps to a 12% PC game cut aimed squarely at Steam shows platforms bidding down their own margins to win catalogs, with the Xbox figure suggesting console economics were next in line.
The trend: App store revenue splits are shifting from an industry-standard 30% toward a competitive bidding war, with Microsoft repeatedly cutting its take to court developers against Apple, Google, and Steam.