Windows 11 brings Android apps to PC via the Amazon App Store

Mobile developers will soon be able to reach PC audiences with little added effort on their part thanks to a new feature announced for Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Windows 11.

For the first time, Windows will allow its users to download and run Android apps directly to their PC via the official Microsoft store app launching with Windows 11. Interestingly, Android-maker Google doesn't seem to be particularly involved in the process.

Instead, the Microsoft Store will directly host games and apps from the Amazon Appstore, Amazon's partially third-party storefront most commonly seen on Android and Amazon's own Fire devices.

Despite the Amazon partnership, no additional Amazon Appstore download is required. Instead, those Android apps will display alongside the rest of the Microsoft Store offerings and, thanks to Intel Bridge tech, run the same as any other app or program on the platform.

The exact steps developers will need to take in order to launch their existing Android apps on PC are a little unclear at the moment, with Amazon noting in an FAQ that "Amazon Appstore team will be in touch with developers later this year to share details on how to publish to Windows."

This move closely follows a change to Amazon's revenue share rules for the Appstore that tilts that split more in favor of the developer, so long as they earn under $1 million annually. The split for the Microsoft Store also shifted recently to give developers 88 percent of their revenue.

It's worth noting as well that Microsoft's Windows 11 announcement also comes with news that developers that use their own or a third-party commerce platform will be able to keep 100 percent of their revenue on the Microsoft Store, but it's unclear if that will extend to games on PC or PC-hosted Android apps. (Update: Microsoft has confirmed that game developers won't be able to benefit from that 100 percent revenue route. Details here.)