Starting next week, Microsoft is starting the migration of accounts to the new and improved Windows Dev Center dashboard. According to the Windows Building Apps Blog, the Windows Dev Center account migration will take place in stages. The first stage starts next week and continues into July. The account migrations are based on account feature usage; those utilizing basic platform abilities being migrated first and accounts using more advanced features migrated later, to prevent any hiccups in account migrations.
Developers need not do anything in order to get their Windows Dev Center account migrated, Microsoft will automatically migrate your account and notify you via email once the account migration is complete. It should be noted that accounts will be inaccessible for a few minutes until the migration completes.
Once your account migration is complete, you will be able to submit and manage your apps in the new and improved Windows Dev Center dashboard. After migration, you will no longer be able to access the Windows Phone or Windows Store dashboard. Windows 10 package submissions will also be unavailable, at least until the new Windows 10 developer tools. For more information on the new Windows Dev Center, check out the Microsoft Channel 9 video below from Build 2015 on the new features coming.
Once your account is migrated, you will get access to a number of new Windows Dev Center features and improvements, including:
- App marketing and promotion
- Account registration, app submission, management and payout
- Account registration, app submission, management and payout
- Set a publish date for your Windows apps.
- App monetization
- Price discounts
- Beta apps
Another bonus feature once your account is migrated is the ability to submit a support ticket for any issues you encounter and Microsoft also added a feedback button to suggest new features for the Windows Dev Center dashboard.
If you haven’t registered as a Windows developer yet, register here.
Further reading: Build 2015, Microsoft, Microsoft Dev Center
