Microsoft launches web app store for Windows; finding apps and games made easier

Microsoft has launched a new web app store for Windows, ditching the old React codebase to make finding Windows apps or Xbox PC games easier. Check everything that’s changing.

Know all about Microsoft’s new web app store for Windows. (Microsoft)

Microsoft recently revamped its Teams app for Windows and Mac to improve its functionality. And the company is not stopping at that. Yesterday, October 6, it also launched the new web app store for Windows. This new web app store is not a mere redesign or addition of new functionalities, in fact, the company claims that it was built from scratch using a new user interface (UI) to make it more intuitive and seamless when looking for new Windows apps and Xbox PC games.

Announcing the new web app store, Microsoft engineer Judah Gabriel posted on X and said, “Hey! Today we released the new http://apps.microsoft.com - app store for Windows. Proud of this work! It's built with web components, using @buildWithLit, @shoelace_style, @vite_js, @pwabuilder's PWA template, App Tools router, running on C# ASPNET backend”.

What it all means in layman's terms is that the entire codebase was replaced and modern UI elements were used in order to build the more modern-looking app store. Explaining the same to another user who asked whether the rebuild meant only some parts of the codes were changed, Gabriel explained, “The old site was a React codebase built on an obsoleted UI framework. We created a fresh user experience with a thoughtfully designed interface, easier ways to discover new apps, modern web tech stack. I hope folks will find it useful”.

You can check the new web app store here.

Microsoft debuts new web app store

The new app store appears to be much more fluid and easy to navigate compared to its predecessor. The search functionality has improved, and users also get a preview of their search in a drop-down menu to quickly jump to the right app or game. Even the search page is much better visually and shows just about enough information for a user to know which one to click on.

Users will now see the name of the app, its icon, rating, category, and a brief description on the title card of the search window. They will also be able to see whether the app is free or paid. It should be noted, however, that the web app store will not be replacing the Microsoft Store app on Windows. It is merely a web front to the app Store.