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Microsoft not paying developers who’ve sold their applications via Marketplace Mobile

Categories: Windows Phone
By: , IntoMobile
Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 12:10 PM

Microsoft’s app store, or as they like to call it “Windows Marketplace for Mobile”, isn’t the prettiest girl on the block, to be honest she’s the girl that sits on the corner of the intersection next to a construction site and a meat packing factory. Aesthetics aside, it did what it was intended to do and give consumers a place to find a sizable collection of applications, and it let developers sell their apps and keep 70% of whatever they felt like charging.

But then something happened, Microsoft forgot to pay developers. To get paid your application needs to first make $200 and then Microsoft will give you your loot, but developers who’ve been using Marketplace for Mobile since it opened last October have yet to receive anything. Developers who’ve made thousands of dollars are still waiting for their payday too. Ars.Technica tried to get to the bottom of this and called Microsoft, and their answer was blah blah blah read the fucking manual.

Not looking good, especially since Microsoft prides themselves on the fantastic developer ecosystem they’ve built. Here is hoping this gets sorted by Mobile World Congress, and if not then by MIX 10.

About The Author

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

  • Katie Mansfield

    There won’t be many pay-outs anyway, as very few devs make enough from Microsoft’s Mobile Marketplace to pay back the $200 or so it costs to submit.

    Windows Mobile is not a platform to make money from.