In late 2016, popular media center, Kodi, decided to launch through the Windows Store. With help from Microsoft and the Desktop Bridge, the existing Win32 app was deployed through the Store and its success has been incredible in a short space of time.
That success was recently detailed at Build 2017, along with the journey towards a full UWP release.
One of the Kodi team delivered a session which you can view in the video above. The highlights from a Windows Store perspective, however, are the numbers since it launched in September 2016:
- 1.6 million active users
- Over 1 billion user minutes
- One of the top ten most popular Windows Store apps
Other benefits to the Store release include automatic updates, something that the existing app doesn't deliver, as well as automated crash reporting stats and usage metrics for the developer.
The numbers are impressive, especially since Kodi is still probably something of a niche app, despite its popularity. The additional tools available to the developers makes it easier for them to make it better for us.
With this success already, the next stage is a full UWP application which will find its way back to Kodi's roots on the Xbox. Again, with Microsoft support, the work is already underway and the UWP release will just be another branch. The existing Win32 app won't be going away, UWP will become another release just as if it were Android or Mac.
It's easy to bash the Windows Store, and there are still many things we'd all like to see done better, but it's also important to highlight the successes. In a fairly short space of time, Kodi has amassed a large user base through the Windows Store, which ultimately ends up benefitting us, the folks that use it.
UWP or not, Store success is hugely important for the Windows platform, so lets hope many more developers see such wins.
