Microsoft has long been said to have written off their UWP app platform, with advocates often denying the obvious.

Today’s news that Microsoft is shutting down the Microsoft Ad Monetization platform for Windows UWP apps in 5 months may, however, convince more.

On MSDN Microsoft announced that they are shutting down the Microsoft Ad Monetization platform for Windows UWP apps ion the 1st June 2020.

Microsoft writes:

As of June 1st 2020, the Microsoft Ad Monetization platform for Windows UWP apps will be shut down. This decision was made primarily because it is no longer viable for us to continue operating the product at the current levels. Key points to note The Ad monetization service will continue to run through the shutdown date of June 1, 2020. Certain underperforming Ad networks will be shut down between now and June 1, 2020.

Developer earnings through the platform prior to the shutdown date (i.e. May 31, 2020) will be paid out per the regular payout schedule.

Historical data including Ad performance data will be made available for download till June 8. All Ad Monetization web pages such as the ad unit configuration, analytics pages will be taken down post this date.

While this transition may be painful for developers who rely on the Ad Monetization platform today, we want to provide adequate time to make the transition to another ad platform. Our recommendation is to begin initiating a switch over immediately by evaluating alternate options for ad monetization for your Windows apps.

While Microsoft is suggesting users switch to other ad platforms, few offer an SDK for UWP apps, meaning most apps will be left without any monetization.

The underlying message is however that despite Windows 10 reaching 1 billion users, the users of UWP apps have, in fact, decreased over time, meaning “it is no longer viable for us to continue operating the product at the current levels.”