The popular Kodi media player is now available for Windows 10 PC owners in the Windows Store. The version of the app in the store was created with the help of Microsoft's Desktop App Converter tool.
In a blog post Kodi stated the team was skeptical at first that the Desktop App Converter would allow their Windows app to be published in the Store, but that opinion soon changed:
It was not long after their announcement a Microsoft representative contacted us asking us to be part of the Windows Store using this Desktop App Converter as they successfully converted Kodi into a UWP app. We were quite shocked that it was that easy and of course gladly accepted this cooperation to get this done.
Kodi says they actually worked with Microsoft to convert the app so it would work in the Windows Store. Kodi also helped to improve the Desktop App Converter itself so it might make it easier for other developers to do the same thing:
So what this mean for users you might wonder? Well to start with it's still the same Kodi version you are used to without any limitations. Additionally you don't really have to go to our website anymore but straight away install Kodi from the Windows Store and automatically receive any future updates automatically. For us developers the added benefit is we'll possible get some crash logs in case they happen and we could use these to identify problems and include fixes in next update.
The current version of Kodi in the Windows Store is v17 beta 2, but the team says it will continue updating it until the final version is available, after which it will "just stick to final releases" Kodi is just for Windows 10 PCs at the moment:
Getting Kodi running as a true UWP app which would allow to install on other devices is still a long way to go and requires quite a few changes before that becomes a possibility. Though the step just made is certainly one in the right direction and we'll certainly try to get there eventually as making the circle back to the XBOX would complete our journey where it all started….
Thanks to Alfredo Cedeno and "OldSchoolTMoney" for the tips!
