Windows Marketplace was discontinued in November 2008. The marketplace tracked product keys and licenses, allowing users to retrieve their purchases when switching computers. Microsoft previously maintained a similar digital distribution system for software known as Windows Marketplace, which allowed customers to purchase software online.

Before a program is added to the Microsoft Store, it must pass security, content, and compatibility checks. The biggest groups of programs were Games and Entertainment. In 2015, there were more than 670,000 different programs on Microsoft Store. When Windows 10 was released, Microsoft put Xbox Store, Windows Marketplace, Xbox Music, Xbox Video, and the Windows phone store all in one program they called Microsoft Store. It was first made for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 to make adding new programs easier for the users. Microsoft Store or Windows Store is an app store for Microsoft Windows, Windows Server and Xbox OS. Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Phone(8-10), Xbox One

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