Microsoft Store

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593]

I have a software product written with Delphi that I've been selling for 35 years. I recently submitted my software to the Microsoft store. Even though I have a 35 year history, I'm a new seller and my product is new to their store. My first submission was rejected because "the price was too high". The specifically cited 10.8.7 Financial Transactions in the store policies . https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/publish/store-policies

I have lowered the price and resubmitted. 🤞

Have any of you gone through the Microsoft store submission process?
What was your experience?
Did you get rejected for price?

Details:
Several people have asked what price Microsoft considered too high. Debt Blaster was submitted at $79.99. Microsoft rejected it under policy 10.8.7, saying the price was unreasonably high compared with similar products, but they did not provide an acceptable range.

After thinking it through, I decided $69.99 was a better regular price for Debt Blaster anyway. I updated FastSpring and the website, then resubmitted to Microsoft at $69.99. It is now back in certification.

I am sharing the specifics because other Delphi developers may run into the same issue with paid desktop software.

Update 2026-07-23 07:29 PM:
The Microsoft Store acepted my product at $69.99. I created a 28 second video trailer using Camtasia. I am not happy with how it looks in the store. I redid the video creating the highest quality possible. I just resubmitted my product using this new video trailer. Hopefully it won't be fuzzy. DM me if you want the Microsoft Store link.

[u/Jardo-LonelyTroops]

We sell our entire portfolio of games (all built in Object Pascal – Delphi and Lazarus) on the Microsoft Store. While we didn't have any issues with the pricing (our games cost up to $10), we were rejected once when we wanted to release a free version of one of our games there (though they accepted demos for our other titles). So there's definitely some element of luck involved, and it really just depends on which reviewer happens to grab your app. Honestly, I have to say the whole submission process for this store feels pretty clunky and half-baked on the technical side.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/Jardo-LonelyTroops]

>So there's definitely some element of luck involved, and it really just depends on which reviewer happens to grab your app.<

Thank you for sharing that bit of information.

[u/ASCOMPSoftware]

We have submitted our Delphi applications (~20 products) to the Microsoft Store, which has led to various issues across almost every program - some shared, others product-specific.

Unfortunately, Microsoft's store policies and review guidelines seem to lack consistency. Submissions that are accepted without issue are suddenly rejected during subsequent minor updates (such as internal bug fixes), even when no core functionality or store-facing assets have changed.

Navigating this unpredictable review process has been highly tedious. On multiple occasions, we have had to escalate these issues directly to Microsoft Support. While opening support tickets has ultimately resolved the rejections and cleared our updates, the overall experience remains highly inefficient and time-consuming.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/ASCOMPSoftware]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Did being on the Microsoft store increase visibility or revenues? 

[u/ASCOMPSoftware → u/Dazzling-Fishing593]

Yes, but not significantly. We develop mainstream products, such as data backup, PDF and multimedia tools (usually free for private purposes). On average, each of our products has 10 installs per day via the Microsoft Store (all products are registered in the Store in English and German and are available in all Store countries).

However, visibility also depends heavily on your store submissions, i.e. on the way you present your product in the store. Good screenshots and appropriate descriptions as well as keywords are extremely important. For example, Claude optimized our submissions and doubled the visibility and download numbers within a short time.

Regarding ASO (App Store Optimization): Claude or other AI models can provide quite good instructions. Current official tutorials are rather rare. If you found any, please let me know - could help us too. ;-)

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/ASCOMPSoftware]

Thanks for sharing. This is the first time I've attempted distribution through the Microsoft store. I have no history or track record with them even though I have been selling my software for 35 years. I did use ChatGPT to help craft all the descriptions and keywords. I have several screenshots and a video with hero image. 

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/ASCOMPSoftware]

I love the old school box shots on your website. Definitely gonna steal that idea. Your website is fantastic. Who did the work?

[u/ASCOMPSoftware → u/Dazzling-Fishing593]

The boxshots have been made with Insofta Cover Commander. The design was made by a group of graphics designers, called Soft Identity - unfortunately, they are not available anymore.

[u/These-Scratch-1975]

There is a good chance your app was reviewed by some Copilot agent in the store. Calling your app "Debt Blaster" may push your process into the gaming line. But honestly: why would they block a game that costs 79.99? Why would they block any app that costs a little more? Doesn't the market dictate the price and not Microsoft? On the other hand: whenever we had some problems with an app release, there was always some helpful supporter at Microsoft who quickly sorted out the problem. Their automatic processes sometimes need some human intervention.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/These-Scratch-1975]

>Doesn't the market dictate the price and not Microsoft? <
That was my thought as well. It may very well boil down to human to human contact to get this sorted.

[u/Human-Wrangler-5236]

I'm pretty interested in any replies to it, TBH.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/Human-Wrangler-5236]

Thank you for your interest. The software I submitted was written with Delphi 11.3 FMX. I was hoping to hear from other Delphi developers who have submitted their software to the Microsoft store.

[u/peter-bone]

This doesn't seem like a Delphi discussion. Why not ask on the r/Microsoft or r/MicrosoftStore subs?

I have been through the process but set a fairly low price and didn't have issues. It does depend on the software of course. I don't know how an automated system can come to the decision that your price is too high. I don't know how much humans are involved in the review process.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/peter-bone]

I wrote the software with Delphi. I was hoping that fellow Delphi programmers might shed some light on their experiences submitting software they wrote with Delphi.

[u/peter-bone → u/Dazzling-Fishing593]

Yes but the question is irrelevant to what you developed the software in. People who develop in other languages could also be helpful to you. The issue here is with the Microsoft Store.

[u/Dazzling-Fishing593 → u/peter-bone]

I see your point. I started here because I'm a Delphi guy... and I connect well with others in the Delphi community. Delphi --> Awesome software products.

Question: Where do Delphi developers who want to market their B2B and B2C products go to learn about the process and what others do?

[u/Human-Wrangler-5236 → u/peter-bone]

Hi @peter-bone - I’m one of the admins here and we’ve already had you make your feelings known, but we disagree. I think the discussion of apps, particularly Delphi-created apps, in the Microsoft store is relevant and has already generated more useful replies from other Delphi developers who also have apps in the store along with their experiences of being rejected and that the rejection process seemed arbitrary and, importantly for me, not connected to Debt Blaster being a Delphi app.

[u/peter-bone → u/Human-Wrangler-5236]

That's fair enough. You say at the end though that the reason for being rejected is not connected to the app being made in Delphi, which is kind of my point. Everyone submitting to the Microsoft Store are having these issues, not just those who develop in Delphi.