Microsoft will no longer support Android apps on Windows PCs.

Microsoft has announced that it will end official support for Android’s Windows subsystem starting March 5, 2025 next year. The software giant had announced that it would bring Android apps to Windows 11 in collaboration with Amazon’s Appstore almost three years ago. Now, Microsoft has released an official statement on its website that reads, “Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon App Store on Windows and all apps and games that depend on WSA will not be supported starting next year.

According to the same announcement, users who are currently using Android apps downloaded from the Amazon Appstore will be allowed to use them after the cutoff date. The announcement states, “Customers who installed Amazon Appstore or Android apps before March 5, 2024 will continue to be able to use those apps until the exit date of March 5, 2025.”

However, users will not be allowed to download new apps when Microsoft ends the life of the Windows subsystem for Android. As of March 6 this year, Windows 11 users will also be unable to search the Amazon Appstore or related Android apps from the Microsoft Store.

This surprise move by Microsoft has shocked several users as the organization has been constantly updating the Windows subsystem for Android over the past few years. Amazon has also made an official announcement about Microsoft’s decision. That’s what Amazon promises to deliver on the Windows subsystem for Android users, according to The Verge — “the smooth end of support for Windows 11 developers and customers of the Amazon App Store.”

They further mentioned that developers will not be able to submit new apps for Windows 11 starting March 5th. They said: “Developers will no longer be able to submit new net apps for Windows 11 after March 5, 2024, but developers with existing apps can continue to submit app updates until the Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is completely retired.”

Microsoft’s Windows subsystem for Android once seemed like an ideal rival to Apple’s flexibility to let users run its iOS apps on macOS. This led to them partnering with Amazon, but without official Google Play Store support, the experience wasn’t as seamless as Apple’s. That’s probably the main reason why Microsoft decided to end Android app support in Windows 11.