Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives, as a free arcade game
Updated 13 Nov 2026 · FY27 (1 October 2026 to 30 June 2027)
The short answer. Octavia Saves the Runway is a free arcade game by WeTransact. In six worlds and about 10 minutes, it walks you through the Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives in the order you claim them: publish a transactable offer, make your first sale, pass $100,000 of billed sales, claim AI Build & Publish, earn a certified software designation, then fund your customers' assessments and migrations. Play it at wetransact.io/play.
In plain words. A startup founder has 3 months of runway and deals stuck in procurement. Microsoft sends Octavia, our octopus, to help. Each world is one real step of Microsoft's incentives path. The bosses are made up. The steps, the rewards and the customer stories are real.
Why a game?
When Fable 5.2 came out in November 2026, it took me back to when I was a kid.
I used to build RPG Maker games. Months on the art, the mechanics, the stories. No major success. I loved it anyway.
Fast forward to today. We have a guide about the Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives. It's beautiful. It's useful. But let's be real: it's a guide about incentives.
So I thought: why not turn it into a game?
But a game needs a story, mechanics, characters and art. And it needs to be fun. So this wasn't one prompt:
- It was a lot of back and forth.
- A lot of "no, not like that."
- A lot of difficulty balancing.
24 hours later, the first version was ready. Honestly, Fable 5.2 is insane.
The result is Octavia Saves the Runway:
- 6 worlds, 6 different arcade mechanics.
- Every step of the Microsoft FY27 incentives.
- Real WeTransact customer stories inside.
- 10 languages.
The art comes from the new WeTransact brand, created with Alban Laurent and Moonworks Agency. It was the foundation for the game design.
Get the complete guide to Microsoft FY27 Marketplace Incentives
Every Microsoft incentive for software companies: what it pays, who qualifies and how to claim it.
Download the e-book →
What is Octavia Saves the Runway?
Here is a one-minute look at all six worlds:
It's a browser game. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for. It runs on a laptop or a phone.
The game is built on that guide. The guide is the map. The game follows it step by step, so by the end you have seen every incentive, what it needs and when you can claim it.
There are two ways to play:
- Full journey: the story, the six worlds in order, real customer stories between worlds, and a result card you can share on LinkedIn. About 10 minutes.
- Arcade: pick any world and replay it, without the story.
You choose Easy (fewer enemies, Octavia fires by herself) or Medium (the full challenge). The game speaks 10 languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Hindi, Korean and Japanese.
The six worlds, and the incentive each one teaches
Each world is a different arcade style. Each one ends on a real step of the FY27 path.
| World | How you play | The real step | What Microsoft gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Castle "Contact me" | Platformer | Publish a transactable offer | Opens every other incentive |
| 2. Contoso Office | Ladder climb | Make your first Marketplace sale | $2,000 of Azure credit from $500 of billed sales |
| 3. Amazonian Forest | Run and gun | Pass $100,000 of billed sales | Azure IP co-sell eligibility, and $35,000 of Azure credit |
| 4. Proof Arena | Arena shooter | Claim AI Build & Publish | $4,000 to $80,000 in cash |
| 5. Cloud Climb | Endless jumper | Earn a certified software designation | Opens the customer incentives |
| 6. Gooblen Land | Side-scrolling shooter | Assess and migrate customers | $12,000 to $20,000 per assessment, up to $200,000 per migration |
How to read it: the order matters. Each step needs the one before it, which is why the full journey plays the worlds in order. The amounts are Microsoft's "up to" figures for FY27, and each program has its own conditions.
Want the detail behind each world? Here is where to read it:
- Castle "Contact me": why a "Contact me" listing isn't enough, in our mythbuster on transactable offers. The boss, the Contact-Me Dragon, turns every "Get it now" back into "Contact me".
- Contoso Office: how the credit works, in Azure sponsorship for software companies.
- Amazonian Forest: the Claw Czar guards the $100,000 gate. Read how to make your first $100,000 in billed sales and how co-selling with Microsoft works.
- Proof Arena: AI Build & Publish for Marketplace, and the separate Agent Store program.
- Cloud Climb: what a certified software designation is and why Microsoft asks for it.
- Gooblen Land: Customer Assessment & POV and Customer Migrate & Modernize, which needs the designation from World 5.
The customer stories inside
Between worlds, the game shows real WeTransact customers who walked the same path:
- Proventeq reports becoming transactable in under 4 weeks, with a $4M pipeline projection.
- Archera reports +30% Azure business in one quarter.
- QS Solutions reports $120K+ in Marketplace sales within weeks of launch, and earned IP co-sell status.
- Solgari reports Marketplace billed sales up 320% in four months, with four transactable apps.
More stories are on our success stories page.
What's real and what's fiction
- Fiction: the founder, the bosses, the worlds and the 3 months of runway.
- Real: the six steps and their order, the reward amounts, and the customer stories with their numbers.
- Not in the game: the fine print. Each program has eligibility rules, deadlines and claim steps. For those, read the FY27 guide or ask us for a free incentives assessment.
At WeTransact, we recommend playing the full journey once, then checking your own position on the path. Most software companies we meet are stuck at World 1: a "Contact me" listing that can't earn any incentive. With our team, a listing goes live in 5 days (that figure is ours, not Microsoft's).
Finished the game? The coffee's on me. Let's talk Marketplace.
Frequently asked questions
Is Octavia Saves the Runway free?
Yes. It's free to play in your browser at wetransact.io/play, with no download and no sign-up.
How long does the game take?
The full journey takes about 10 minutes. Arcade mode lets you replay any single world.
Are the incentive amounts in the game real?
Yes. They are Microsoft's FY27 "up to" amounts, from the same sources as our FY27 incentives guide. Each program has its own conditions.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. The game works on phones and laptops, and it adapts the controls to touch screens.
Which languages does the game support?
Ten: English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, French, German, Dutch, Hindi, Korean and Japanese.
Who made the game?
Vinícius Chacon, our Head of Marketing, built the first version in 24 hours with Fable 5.2, using the WeTransact brand and our FY27 incentives guide.
Sources: Microsoft, FY27 partner incentives guide and Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace pages; Microsoft Learn, co-sell requirements.
Want the full picture?
Everything here is also in our complete guide to Microsoft FY27 Marketplace incentives, with plain-words notes for newcomers. Get the complete FY27 guide
Not sure which incentive fits your company?
Ask for your free Microsoft Incentives Assessment: a personalized report of every incentive your company can claim, what each is worth, and the order to claim them. Free, no obligation. No Partner Center login needed to start. Ask for your free Assessment
The other FY27 incentives
- Azure sponsorship
- AI Build & Publish for Marketplace
- AI Build & Publish for the Agent Store
- Customer Assessment & POV
- Customer Migrate & Modernize
- Co-selling with Microsoft
Based on Microsoft's FY27 Partner Investments material and the Frontier Accelerate for Marketplace pages on Microsoft Learn. Microsoft may change its programs at any time, and every payout needs Microsoft's approval. Amounts are in USD.
