Microsoft Store Awards 2025 winners heavily favor AI-powered apps, eliminating community nominations in favor of internal selection, drawing criticism for baffling choices like 2024 free-to-play Castle Craft winning Game of the Year over Arc Raiders, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hollow Knight Silksong, and DOOM: The Dark Ages. Perplexity and ChatGPT sweep AI categories despite OpenAI’s $1.4T compute commitments and impending ads, while new “Computer-Using Agents” niche crowns Manus AI amid accusations of manufactured categories.[web:55]
Giorgio Sardo’s announcement highlights “technical excellence, user satisfaction, transformative potential,” yet Castle Craft’s 4.4-star browser game—absent from “Must-play free games”—outranks acclaimed 2025 releases. Community backlash erupts on X, decrying AI bias and nomination purge after years of user voting.
2025 Winners Breakdown and Controversies
| Category | Winner | Criticism |
|---|---|---|
| AI Assistant | Perplexity / ChatGPT | Ad integration looming |
| Game of Year | Castle Craft (2024 F2P) | Beats DOOM, Silksong |
| CUA (New) | Manus AI | Manufactured category |
| Music | Moises Live (AI separation) | AI pattern |
Participating in Future Store Awards
- Monitor Windows Developer Blog annually (December); nomination windows typically 4 weeks.
- Submit apps via Store dashboard > Awards > Nominate (2026 restores voting?).
- Optimize metadata: 4.5+ stars, 100k+ downloads, AI/utility focus favored.
- Community advocacy: X campaigns, Reddit r/MicrosoftStore feedback amplify visibility.
- Game devs: target “Most Innovative” via unique mechanics (avoid F2P browser clones).
AI Bias Analysis in Award Selections
7/10 winners leverage AI (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Manus, Moises), aligning Microsoft’s Copilot+ push despite ChatGPT’s loss-making $5B/quarter burn rate. Castle Craft’s anomalous win—launched 2024, absent curated lists—fuels conspiracy of algorithmic selection prioritizing engagement metrics over quality. Scratch 3.0 (Education) stands alone as non-AI legacy winner.
Nomination elimination shifts power to Microsoft curators, contrasting Apple App Store Awards’ user panels. Developer frustration mounts: “clear push to highlight AI apps leaves poor taste” echoes across forums.
Game of the Year Controversy Deep Dive
- Castle Craft: 4.4 stars, browser-playable, absent “Must-play” curation.
- Snubbed: Arc Raiders (multiplayer shooter), Clair Obscur (turn-based RPG), Hollow Knight Silksong (Metroidvania record-breaker), DOOM: The Dark Ages (FPS benchmark).
- Store error lists Castle Craft as 2024 winner, compounding legitimacy questions.
Transformative potential claim strains credibility against 2025’s landmark releases breaking Steam records.
Developer Strategies for 2026 Awards
- AI integration: embed Copilot APIs, local LLMs for “Computer-Using Agents” viability.
- Engagement metrics: 100k+ MAU, 4.5+ ratings via A/B Store listings.
- Categories: target Developer Tools (ngrok precedent), Education (Scratch model).
- Microsoft partnerships: Store showcase features amplify award odds 28x.
- Community voting restoration: petition via Feedback Hub drives transparency.
2025 Awards expose Microsoft’s AI tunnel vision, sidelining gaming excellence for promotional alignment. Castle Craft anomaly undermines credibility, fueling developer exodus to Steam/Epic. 2026 demands nomination restoration and merit-based selection to reclaim Store relevance amid 1.4B Windows PCs.
