Similar to language packs, Microsoft is now going to put fonts in the Microsoft Store. This will allow users to download them exactly the same way they download games and apps.
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The Microsoft Store app is the built-in content delivery system in modern Windows versions. With Fall Creators Update and Redstone 4, Microsoft is extending the Store with the ability to buy hardware and delivering operating system components to the end user.
While you could download language packs for Windows 10 using Windows Update, you couldn't do the same with fonts. Previously, fonts were usually shipped with various Windows, Office or other products. Fonts or typefaces designed by Microsoft were never available for download from the Microsoft web site or as a standalone purchase or for licensing.
Adding them to the Store will simplify the download process. If the company would allow redistributing fonts to third-parties, users could easily build and organize their own font library with a few clicks. Thanks to Microsoft Account, fonts that they have installed will be accessible on all their devices.
Personally, I do not use the Microsoft Store at all, so I only hope that fonts will be available without logging in to your Microsoft Account. There are a number of machines running with a local account only.
Also, Windows itself ships with more than enough fonts for everyone to enjoy so besides the professional market, purchasing standalone fonts online and downloading them might be of questionable value. The web is full of high quality and completely free OpenType and TrueType fonts for which you don't need to pay a single penny. There are also long-running projects like Google Fonts which already allow you to preview, purchase and download fonts, or get a lot of them for free.
What do you think about fonts being available in the Microsoft Store?
With microtransactions looking like the possible future of the software industry, certain fonts, just like games, themes or other downloadable content, may end up becoming yet another thing you have to pay separately for instead of getting them bundled with your OS.
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