The intent was not at all subtle, and the immediate outrage was loud enough that Microsoft backed off a bit, re-enabling "side-loading" (again, normal software installation) by default. The Windows Store remained a walled garden, though, closed to all except those who were willing to marry themselves to Microsoft's new OS.
Developers balked.
Developing specifically for UWP was intended to be expensive, remember, with the goal of encouraging developers to develop only for Windows 10, and not for other platforms, but most of the users were still on other platforms. The only area in which most (meaning 51% of) users have switched to Windows 10 was gaming, and UWP games were a disaster, plagued with missing or malfunctioning features, and running worse in all cases than normal executables.
Oh, and that promised Windows 10 mobile market? There isn't one.
Faced with the reality of extra costs, worse performance, and no guarantee of a large enough market, only a few developers have actually made UWP apps, and one gets the impression that they were only doing it due to partnerships or other sweetheart deals with Redmond. It just isn't worth incurring extra costs to make programs that can only be purchased by 22% of PC users, with almost no possibility of mobile customers to offset.
Enter Microsoft Desktop Bridge.
From Tech Times:
The first desktop apps ported into the Universal Windows Platform have now been made available for download at the Windows Store.
The ports were made possible through the Desktop Bridge, which Microsoft announced at this year's Build conference. The tool allows developers to port their existing apps and games to the UWP using the Desktop App Converter and then adding the UWP functionality. The app or game can then be gradually migrated into all Windows 10 devices over time, including smartphones, the Hololens augmented reality headset and the Xbox One gaming console.
[...]
These apps are now available for download, a few months after developers gained access to the Desktop App Converter upon the launch of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The apps can be found in the Desktop Bridge section of the Windows Store.
In addition to the ported apps, Microsoft has also added the Desktop App Converter to the Windows Store, allowing developers to receive updates and new features as soon as the company releases them.
While the ability to port apps into Windows 10's UWP is a big deal for developers, Desktop Bridge could negatively impact the overall performance of the software, according to a report by Tom's Hardware.
There's some obvious press release copy embedded in there, so let's unpack this a bit.
First, Desktop Bridge apps are not "true" UWP apps. They were not developed for UWP exclusively; they're effectively normal programs with a UWP wrapper, allowing them to be uploaded to the Windows Store without requiring the developers to build specifically for Windows 10. This allows developers to reach Windows 10 users without incurring extra Windows 10 development costs in the process, and allows them to sell basically the same programs on the Windows Store that they're selling elsewhere, which is a clear win for them.
Second, because they're ported desktop programs, and not native UWP programs, they don't run as well as normal executables. UWP apps already run worse than an optimized executable of the same program, remember, and Desktop Bridge does nothing to optimize ported programs for Windows 10, while potentially adding all the other performance issues that come with UWP.
Third, while Desktop Bridge does finally put some apps in Microsoft's store front, the initial list of those apps (Arduino IDE, doubleTwist, Evernote, korAccount, MAGIX Movie Edit Pro, PhotoScape, Predicted Desire, Relab, SQL Pro, Virtual Robotics Kit and Voya Media) aren't exactly high-demand items for the average consumer. And Microsoft has had to back off their demand of Windows 10 exclusivity to accomplish even this much; clearly, developers were not willing to to marry themselves to Windows 10 at the expense of continuing to sell to Windows 7 & 8 customers, or incur any significant extra costs to sell to both old OS and new OS users.
Fourth: Desktop Bridge apps aren't guaranteed to work on every Windows 10 device. In particular, they mostly won't run on mobile devices, unless developers spend additional time and money adding mobile functionality -- something which is unlikely, given Windows' pathetic mobile market share. This is a big hit to Microsoft's plans to leverage Windows' desktop market share into mobile OS market share via UWP -- plans which appear to have mostly collapsed, anyway.
In short, Microsoft's monopolistic move with UWP doesn't seem to be working. The Windows Store is still sparsely populated with lower-performing versions of lower-demand software, and the available base of Windows 10 Mobile apps isn't growing, since developers now have even less reason to develop truly portable UWP programs. Overall, UWP and the Windows Store appear to be a bust.
Can you see me smiling? Because I'm smiling.
UWP was a heavy-handed monopolistic move that deserved to fail. Awkward as it might be, and icky as it might feel, to be rooting for someone to fail, in this case, I have to think that it's cause for celebration. The worst case here is that Windows 10 customers who want to buy their software through Microsoft's storefront in spite of the impaired performance (and the performance problems with the Windows Store itself) will have some more variety on the menu when doing so, while developers can add the Windows Store to their distribution options at less cost than before.
And the best case? Microsoft might even start working on finally making UWP into a better product, one which consumers will actually want to use, and which developers will actually want to build for, rather than simply relying on their control of the OS to force UWP on users and developers alike. As I see it, the only downside is that UWP's obvious struggle to find acceptance might be breeding complacency and contempt among possible competitors. (And yes, I'm looking at you, Valve.)