Windows Phone and Windows Store app developers can finally rejoice — Microsoft has announced a single Windows Dev Center website today, making it easier for app developers to learn and create apps for both platforms. This is yet another step towards the company’s journey to a single unified Windows platform.
“Today we are also taking the next step in the journey to a single unified Windows platform which began last November with unified developer registration, and continued at Build with universal Windows apps. With this release, we are bringing together Windows Phone and Windows Store online developer resources including education materials, guidance, code samples and reference documentation. We now have a single Windows Dev Center website to aid those of you developing apps and games across phone, tablet and PC,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
This means the new Windows Dev Center will feature unified documentation, a single location for code samples, and a single location for developer forums. This new unified approach to both the Windows and Windows Phone platforms allow developers to create apps for both platforms with ease.
The dashboards, however, will remain separate for Windows Phone and Windows. Developers can easily switch between the two in the left-hand navigation pane.
Microsoft also revealed that the number of payout markets have been increased by 21 new markets (149 total markets). This means app developers can utilize 21 new markets for their paid apps, including apps with in-app purchase capabilities. For those that did not know, in-app purchase is the fastest growing Store revenue model, representing nearly 50% of Windows Phone developer payout and over 30% of Windows payout.
The 21 new payout markets include: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Comoros, Dominica, Fiji Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
Further reading: Microsoft, Windows 8.1, Windows Phone
