Hi
I'am not a Microsoft Employee, but there is surelly a royalty fee somewhere for them to pay as it's a Apple's format, and it was free last year. Now the free CODEC is no longer in the store. (ms-windows-store://pdp/?ProductId=9n4wgh0z6vhq)
To get the codec for free there is two tip;
- Get the K-Lite codec pack (https://www.codecguide.com/download_kl.htm)
- Install the potplayer video player, click yes to install the CODEC, and uninstall after. The CODEC will stay.
To note in iCloud if you click to download your multimedia file, it download the file in a free a CODEC's format (jpg/mpg)