In the ‘Post-PC era’ an app store is a given on any platform that wants to succeed. So it isn’t very surprising that Windows 8 will have its own ‘Windows Store‘ which will feature Windows software. To date, however, there haven’t been very much details on exactly how Windows Store for Windows 8 will operate. We still don’t have all the concrete details but thanks to a blog post by Microsoft, we do have better insight on the pricing structure of Windows Store.

Software featured in Windows Store can either be free or priced as low as US$1.49 and as high as US$999.99. (Yes, there is no US$0.99 price point for Windows Store.) If a developer doesn’t want to charge an up-front cost for their app, developers are given the option to display advertisements inside apps (any ad network is supported that gets certified for Windows 8) and/or utilize in-app purchases. Keeping with the shareware tradition, Windows Store will also support seven-day trial apps.

Initially Microsoft will take a 30% cut of all Windows Store and in-app purchase sales but if an app reaches US$25,000 sales or more then Microsoft will drop that cut to 20%.

If a developer wants to run purchases through their own servers, they can do that but Microsoft will still take a cut of all Windows Store and in-app purchase sales. If a developer wants to avoid the Windows Store altogether, they can do that; Microsoft allows for distribution of software through non-Microsoft channels. However, all Metro apps must be distributed through Windows Store.

So… who’s excited for Windows 8?

[via The Verge, Microsoft]