How to get my software recognized/authroized/credentialed etc. on Windows?

Question

I've been developing games in Unreal Engine, and I find when I package and publish them, the first time I open the executable I get a warning message that the game came from an unknown publisher and that I might not want to open the file (Windows 11). I seem to be getting conflicting accounts on how I'm supposed to register (or whatever I'm supposed to do) the software I created. One suggestion was to become a Partner with the Microsoft Partner Network. I did that and found that it let me log into Azure where I can register Apps. I made a registration for my App (the Unreal Project), but I can't seem to find further instructions on what to do. Was this the right path to accomplish being trusted on Windows? If so, what is the next step(s)? If not, how do I do this? Maybe I'm searching for the wrong terms, but it seems odd that I can't find documentation on a process to do this, since it seems like something all applications, not only games, need to go through. Thank you for your time and expertise.

Answer 1

Hello DavidTveraas

For becoming a Trusted Publisher you will need to purchase a code signing certificate and use a tool like Microsoft SignTool in order to sign your software. This certificates are provided by 3rd party certification authorities and the providers are several. You may prompt your question to Unreal forums in order to get some feedback on experiences from other game developers in the topic, providers, etc...

For more information about SignTool and Code Signing certificates, please check:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/signtool
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/cryptography-tools

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Answer 2

Hi @David Tveraas , I'm sorry you're having this problem! I would recommend reposting this issue on the Windows 11 forum: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum They will be better suited to help as this is more of a Windows question. However, have you looked into this document about certifying your application? It may be able to guide you in the right direction.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

If this answer helped you please mark it as "Verified" so other users may reference it.

Thank you,
James