With the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft introduced the new Desktop App Converter (aka Project Centennial) in Windows 10. The Desktop App Converter allowed developers of the classic Win32 apps to bring their apps to the Windows Store and take advantage of some modern Windows 10 features such as Live Tiles and the Action Center. A handful of developers have already released their Win32 apps on the Windows Store, this includes Evernote, Kodi, and some other apps.
And now, Microsoft is also bringing its full Office suite to the Windows Store. Full Office apps in the Windows Store were first spotted back in February 2016. According to my sources, Microsoft is now planning to officially release the full Office apps via the Desktop App Converter in Windows 10. We were told that Microsoft is currently looking to release the apps following the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, so we are assuming the full Office apps will be available sometime around April 2017 which is when Microsoft plans to release the Creators Update for Windows 10 devices.
I am also hearing that Microsoft is currently shifting its focus away from the Office Mobile apps for Windows 10, but Redmond still plans on releasing new updates for the Office Mobile apps every month.
The timing for this actually quite interesting as Windows 10 Cloud is around the corner. Microsoft is putting a lot of focus on Win32 apps in the Windows Store lately, and Windows 10 Cloud likely has something to do with that. That’s because Windows 10 Cloud only allows users to download apps from the Windows Store, and users can’t install Win32 apps download from the web — but if Microsoft allows users to download Win32 apps from the Windows Store, things would certainly get a lot more interesting. Of course, it isn’t confirmed whether Microsoft will allow Windows 10 Cloud users to download apps from the Windows Store, but being able to download Win32 apps from the Windows Store in Windows 10 Cloud might finally convince Win32 developers to bring their apps to the store.
