A lot of viewers were surprised today to learn that many popular apps are going to be returning to the Mac App Store. Over the past few months, it has seemed like app after app has decided to forge ahead with direct to customer sales (see past 9to5mac coverage).

At WWDC, Apple announced that a brand new Mac App store would be launching later this fall. They also announced that apps will also be coming to the Mac App Store such as Microsoft Office 365, Adobe Lightroom CC, Barebones BB Edit, Transmit, and also new games. Transmit and BB Edit are notable because they used to be in the Mac App Store.

Many of us were wondering what has changed to entice these developers back. We are now learning why:

Many developers had difficulties working with existing sandboxing requirements and felt it was easier to move ahead without the Mac App Store. It looks like that has changed with the overhauled store.

🧞‍♂️ So! Transmit 5 in the Mac App Store, coming later this year. Why?• Coming improvements to sandboxing finally let us offer all Transmit 5 features in the App Store version.• The new, redesigned Mac App Store is a store we’d like to be in.But there’s a little twist!

— Panic Inc (@panic) June 4, 2018

The twist Panic mentioned is that the Mac App Store version will be a subscription price. This option will allow users to use on a short-term basis. They will still sell standalone on their website. News about the upgraded Mac App Store is still rolling in, so be sure to follow @9to5mac on Twitter.

What do you think? Do you prefer Mac App Store apps or standalone apps?