Microsoft has already announced that the Windows Store feature in Windows 8 would list a selection of desktop apps. However, the store front would not provide a way to directly download them like Windows Store does for Windows 8 Metro apps. Late on Friday, the official Windows Store blog posted up a new entry with more information on how desktop app developers can have their products listed in the Windows Store.
As we have reported before, desktop apps that appear in the Windows Store must provide a link to download those apps outside the Windows Store user interface. In order to submit desktop apps for a possible listing, a developer must first download and run the Windows App Certification Kit on their desktop app. After the developer submits the results of the certification kit to Microsoft, the company will then either approve or reject the results. If Microsoft approves the results, the developer then sends the listing for the desktop app; it must include information about the app and a URL link to where people can download and/or purchase the app.
Desktop app developers must also set a price for their product (even if it's free) and also must decide which of the many global markets the desktop app can be sold. Microsoft provides a check box page to let customers known which countries and languages the app will support.
Microsoft adds:
During the app submission process, we request that you supply a URL for users who need the x86 version of an app and one for those who need the x64 version. For Release Preview, both URL fields are required, and should correspond to the version of Windows that a user is running. If the acquisition page is the same for both, we recommend that you use the same URL in both fields. The Windows Store detects whether a user is running the x86 or x64 version of Windows, and users can only see apps that correspond to this version.
Source: Microsoft Store blog | Image via Microsoft
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