Many Windows Phone developers have been without up to date app download statistics for well over a month, with Microsoft claiming its Dev Center is currently suffering "issues".

The data blackout, which is also impacting app rankings, was first acknowledged by the US giant on the Windows Phone Dev Center forums back at the start of June.

According to one developer who contacted us, however, it's an issue that's yet to be fully resolved.

High and dry

"[Our] Windows Phone download statistics haven't been updated in a week now - I guess it varies a bit from developer to developer," the developer, who wished to remain anonymous, told us via email.

"We, for example, have seen download numbers from 16 July, but nothing since then."

The developer in question noted that, on the surface, it's "not the greatest of issues", but it has the potential to leave developers behind recently released apps or games high and dry, with studios unaware as to how their titles are performing.

For Microsoft's part, the firm followed up with a post in mid-July confirming that "engineering has started to roll out a fix for this issue", adding that developers should expect to see reporting data processed shortly.

It would appear, however, that it's something of a staggered solution, with our anonymous developer still without download statistics at the time of writing.

Another hack?

Indeed, comments on the forum posted a matter of hours ago suggest that developers aplenty are yet to be party to a fix, with one member informing Microsoft that developers are "paying customers", defining the issue as "nothing short of gross negligence."

So, what's the reason behind the data blackout?

Given it comes at the same time as Apple admitted its own Developer Portal had been hacked, our anonymous source speculated that Microsoft too may have been the victim of an outside attack, which would explain the delay in finding a solution.

"It's a bit ironic Microsoft tweeted 'Hey iOS developers, come check our working developer tools' a few days ago when iTunes was down due to the hacking thing," detailed our developer.

"I actually wouldn't be surprised if this issue is due to some hacking thing too."

We've reached out to Microsoft for its take on the download statistics blackout.
Are you a Windows Phone developer who has suffered as a result of the blackout? Get in touch at keith.andrew [at] pocketgamer.co.uk.