Microsoft Brings Interactive Playable Ads to Windows Store

Despite the massive push Microsoft has made to get into the mobile space, its efforts have not been as successful as it might have hoped. One of these less than stellar attempts has been with the Windows Store which has not been widely well received. In an effort to boost their store offerings and get things moving, Microsoft is debuting what they are calling Playable Ads to try to sell some apps.

Unlike what you would normally associate with ads, Playable Ads are closer to a trial or demo version of an app. Instead of having to download a trial or demo version, users can simply run the app in its Playable Ads form without having to leave the Windows Store. This dramatically simplifies the process of trying out new apps without the hassle of downloading and uninstalling multiple apps before you get to the one you want.

Over the course of three minutes, users will be able to try out the app however they want with unlimited functionality. At the end of the session, the user can opt to buy the app and have their progress saved on the downloaded and installed version. At any point during the session, the user is free to leave and have all their data wiped. This is not unlike game streaming but applied more generally to apps.

While the feature is still in limited preview, developers won’t have to add anything special to enable this feature other than opt into the program. Everything will be handled by Microsoft’s app and ad streaming servers and work seamlessly. It’s nice that Microsoft is coming up with creative ways to grow their business instead of strong-arming users as in other cases. This is how Microsoft should grow their business by making them want the product and not by forcing it onto users. It will be interesting to see if this will be enough to bring more users onto the Windows Store platform.