Windows Phone 8 is getting a second life thanks to 8Marketplace, patched Twitter app, and more

Recently, I covered how you can get a working version of Discord on Windows Phone, although it comes with some risk since third-party clients go against Discord’s terms of service.

That added bit of functionality, though, is just one example of how fans are keeping Windows Phone alive. Another is 8Marketplace, a community-driven project that brings back app access with custom patches and more, so let’s take a closer look at what 8Marketplace actually does.

First off, let’s cover what 8Marketplace is. It’s a community-driven replacement for the Windows Phone Store, built for devices running Windows Phone 8.0 and designed to bring app downloads back to these devices after Microsoft shut down the Windows Phone 8.1 store in 2019.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s talk about the patches. Apps like TweetIt, which was originally made for Twitter (now X), have been patched to work with Bluesky instead, while Facebook has been modified to connect to argim.net, a Latin American social networking service.

Honestly, community efforts like this never cease to amaze me. I said the same when covering Discord on Windows Phone, and I’ll admit, it’s tempting to go out and buy a Windows Phone again, if only for the nostalgia.

That said, this is still very much a passion project, not something I’d consider daily driving in its current form. It’s still in development, so bugs and limitations are to be expected.

Even with that in mind, it’s hard not to be impressed. For me, though, it also serves as a stark reminder of how Microsoft killed Windows Phone and how that decision still echoes today as the company struggles to find a real foothold in mobile.

We’re still hearing about plans like an Xbox mobile store, but so far, there’s nothing concrete to show for it.

Are you like me and still feeling a bit blue over the end of Windows Phone, but also impressed by the community efforts keeping it alive?

Whether you agree or not, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to take part in our poll below:

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