Following extensive promotion by Microsoft of Android apps on Windows 11, Microsoft has announced its decision to discontinue this feature as of March 5, 2025, impacting subsystem developers. Amazon primarily utilized this functionality for its AppStore, permitting users to access and install apps from its ecosystem via the Microsoft Store on Windows up until today.

For its part, Microsoft’s statement reads:

“Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025. Until then, technical support will remain available to customers.
Customers that have installed the Amazon Appstore or Android apps prior to March 5, 2024, will continue to have access to those apps through the deprecation date of March 5, 2025. Please reach out to our support team for further questions at support.microsoft.com. We are grateful for the support of our developer community and remain committed to listening to feedback as we evolve experiences.”
Support Article from Microsoft

The discontinuation of this capability deals a significant blow to developers who anticipated the realization of cross-platform development and Android app usage on Windows. With the absence of this Windows subsystem, developers will be compelled to resort to compatible emulators, drastically reducing the likelihood of consumer adoption.

In an email sent by Amazon to its users, the company stated, “…Amazon Appstore will continue to be available and supported on Fire TV, Fire Tablet and Android devices.”