Microsoft is planning to give developers an 80 percent cut of revenue for apps sold via its Windows 8 store – although only after hitting the US$25,000 sales mark.

The store is intended to support the next-generation of Microsoft’s Windows platform, which will include a version targeting tablet computers – a market currently dominated by Apple’s iOS. The company is now looking to woo developers to ensure it has a healthy app ecosystem in place before the availability of devices.

While Microsoft is looking to offer a greater portion of revenue to its most successful developers, for the majority the standard 70 percent share will be available. In a blog post, it said that “when you look at the breadth of the Windows customer base, the potential for innovation on the platform and the appeal of new devices that take advantage of these software and hardware advances, we expect an entirely new scale of economic opportunity to be realised for app developers.”

The store will support many of the same business models available through its current Marketplace for Windows Phone apps, including trials and in-app purchases – the company said it has seen “tremendous success with trial conversions” from the smartphone store. However, while the store is in the beta phase only free apps will be supported, with the company stating that this period is intended as “a feedback opportunity regarding our onboarding and certification process, and a chance for developers to get early feedback on their Metro style apps.”

The intention is to enable developers to reach customers with free and paid apps in 231 markets worldwide. For a number of markets there will be a specific app catalogue, while customers elsewhere will be able to access a “rest of world” selection.

The company is also running a competition called First Apps, for developers wanting to have their apps featured in the Windows Store beta.