Microsoft’s Wallpaper Site Retires, Leaving Users in an Unorganized Store Chaos!

Microsoft is planning to retire its webpage offering free wallpapers and themes early. At present, you can still access a specific page where you’ll find hundreds of themes, including those like “African Wildlife” and “Zune Zodiac.” However, a new notice on that page now directs users towards the Microsoft Store instead.

Microsoft has announced that the webpage offering links to download Windows themes will soon be decommissioned as it is no longer relevant. To ensure an optimal user experience, they advise downloading the most recent themes directly from the Microsoft Store instead. However, it appears that the themes can still be downloaded from the site for now.

On the Microsoft Store, you’ll find a dedicated area for Windows themes, offering hundreds of distinct choices. However, these themes seem to differ from those previously available on the now-defunct site.

Fortunately, beloved titles such as “Dogs of Winter” can be found on the Microsoft Store. For cat enthusiasts, there are numerous selections showcasing feline companions as well.

Another Microsoft Store mess

As a tech enthusiast, I’ve got to admit, it doesn’t bother me much when themes and wallpapers migrate from free sites to the Microsoft Store, given that Microsoft continues to provide top-notch images free of charge. However, this shift appears to be more about driving traffic to the Microsoft Store, which leaves me wondering. If that’s indeed the objective, I can’t help but ask why Microsoft didn’t fully prepare the Themes section of their Store before shutting down its old themes website? Seems like they could have smoothed the transition a bit more.

Back in the day, I found the old site neatly segmented into areas like ‘Animals,’ ‘Automotive,’ and ‘Movies.’ Each sector would unfold to showcase related subjects. But here’s the kicker – the Themes section on the Microsoft Store seems to be missing those handy categories.

From what I can observe, it seems the Themes section on Microsoft Store is organized alphabetically, yet there are some exceptions. It appears that certain themes are highlighted at the top of the page, but this might just be a speculation. Unfortunately, no clear explanation is given as to why these featured themes differ from the rest, which are sorted in an alphabetical manner.

To make people more inclined towards using the Microsoft Store, Microsoft must strive to deliver an experience comparable to that of rival platforms. This pattern is evident in the gaming sector, as it appears that a significant number of users opt for Steam, Epic Games, and alternative launchers instead of the Microsoft Store.

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2025-01-24 22:09