Aug 20, 2018 at 9:30 PM Microsoft to discontinue Store support for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
Microsoft has announced that it is discontinuing support for Windows 8 (and 8.1) and Windows Phone 8 applications on its online store.
In a post on the company's Windows Developer Blog, the Microsoft Store team provided a time table for when new app submissions would no longer be accepted, as well as dates for when Windows 8/8.1/Phone 8 applications already on the Microsoft Store will no longer be allowed to distribute updates.
Starting October 31st, 2018, new apps for Windows 8, 8.1, and Phone 8 will no longer be allowed submission on the Microsoft Store. Apps for Windows 8 and 8.1 can continue to be updated and supported by their developers until July 1st, 2023. This should give both users and developers enough time to transition over to suitable alternative storefronts for consumption or distribution. However, Windows Phone 8 apps will no longer be allowed to update after July 1st, 2019. That gives users and developers a little over 11 months to find suitable alternatives to the apps used or alternative methods of distributing apps and content updates.
Microsoft's offered alternative in the announcement post for developers is to port these apps to Windows 10 and the Universal Windows Platform. The company did not offer an alternative for consumers.
