Microsoft to Discontinue Support for Android Apps in Windows 11 by 2025

Approximately three years after Microsoft announced it would facilitate the running of Android applications on Windows 11 through the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), the company has revealed its decision to end support for this subsystem as of March 5, 2025.

“Microsoft is discontinuing support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA). Consequently, the Amazon Appstore for Windows and any applications and games reliant on WSA will no longer be supported after March 5, 2025”, according to Microsoft’s statement.

Impact on Users

While users who engage with Android applications and games from the Amazon Appstore will still be able to do so post the support discontinuation of WSA, they will not be able to download new applications or updates for existing ones. Starting from March 6, 2025, Windows 11 users will no longer be able to search for Android applications on the Amazon Appstore.

Amazon’s Response

This announcement comes as a surprise considering Microsoft’s consistent updates to the WSA subsystem over the years. In response, Amazon stated that it is teaming up with Microsoft to ensure a “smooth transition as support ends for Amazon Appstore developers and customers on Windows 11”. Developers will no longer be able to upload new Android applications for Windows 11 from March 5, 2024, but those who have already uploaded can continue to update their products until WSA’s support completely ends.

Implications and Background

The initial announcement of running Android applications on Windows 11 was seen as Microsoft’s response to Apple’s success in running iOS applications on macOS computers. Microsoft’s alliance with Amazon provided a portal for accessing Android applications on Windows 11, albeit without official access to Google Play, hence making the process a bit cumbersome. This inconvenience could very well be the reason why Microsoft has chosen to cease further development of the WSA feature.