[Problem/Bug]: New versions add new .appx package dependency

[dalux-mve]

What happened?

When creating app packages using newer WebView2 SDKs we get a new dependency on Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.Desktop.appx, which was not there before. This is a problem for us since we distribute the app as a .appxbundle where the dependency is not included, so after updating the WebView2 SDK we had customers being unable to install the app because the dependency could not be found locally.

As a workaround we downgraded to SDK version 1.0.2739.15, which was the latest that did not have the dependency. This works, but it is of course problematic to not be able to upgrade to the newest version.

What is the reason for this dependency being added now and is it possible to avoid somehow?

Importance

Moderate. My app's user experience is affected, but still usable.

Runtime Channel

Stable release (WebView2 Runtime)

Runtime Version

No response

SDK Version

1.0.2903.40

Framework

Winforms

Operating System

Windows 10, Windows 11

OS Version

No response

Repro steps

1. In visual studio, create a new winforms project along with a windows application packaging project that references it.
2. Add the WebView2 version 1.0.2903.40 dependency in Nuget.
3. Create the app package. It now contains a dependencies folder which is not there if the same steps are reproduced with version 1.0.2739.15.

Repros in Edge Browser

No, issue does not reproduce in the corresponding Edge version

Regression

Regression in newer SDK

Last working version (if regression)

1.0.2739.15

[soumamazu]

Thank you for reporting. I tried to repro this locally and it seems like if I use a newer version of VS with .NET framework 8.0 this issue is happening. However, I could not repro this with earlier .NET versions.