Developer Console

Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is now generally available

Amazon Appstore Developer Jul 06, 2023

Important: Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 will no longer be supported after March 5, 2025. Read the blog for more information.

Expanding your Android app's reach to hundreds of millions of new users just got easier—Amazon Appstore on Windows 11 is now generally available for all developers. In partnership with Microsoft, we utilized the Windows Subsystem for Android™ (WSA) to provide a first-class experience for running Android apps available in the Amazon Appstore. Popular Android apps and games—including Audible, TikTok, Lords Mobile, Hungry Shark Evolution, and Epic Seven—are now reaching new users on PCs without having to create a separate desktop version for Windows. Epic Seven broadened their app's reach with Amazon Appstore on Windows 11, increased their revenue with the Appstore SDK, and delivered an immersive gaming experience to their customers. Read their story.

Getting started

To port your Android app to Windows 11, it’s essential you test your app on a Windows 11 device with at least 8GB of RAM. If your device meets the minimum requirements, download the Windows Subsystem for Android directly from the Microsoft Store, and it will automatically install the Amazon Appstore as well.

Once WSA and the Amazon Appstore for Windows 11 are activated on your PC, review the following developer docs:

1. Our compatibility guide covers Windows-specific use cases for your app, including input controls, graphic management, x86 architecture, and how scope storage works with app-specific file directories. The guide also details the features you will want to test for Windows 11 functionality.

Note: To target Windows 11 devices, you must submit an Android app. Mobile web / HTML5 apps cannot target non-Amazon Android devices or Windows Subsystem for Android.

2. Follow Microsoft’s steps for enabling “developer mode” to debug your app on Windows 11 and use Amazon’s Live App Testing to prepare for app submission.

3. In order to achieve optimal PC user experience with your app, implement keyboard/mouse support and window management & resizing capabilities.

Tip: Check out the developer blogs as well for guidance on mapping native inputs and resizing apps in WSA.

4. If you have additional questions, review our troubleshooting guide along with the developer FAQs and the WSA project on GitHub.

5. Read our steps for targeting Windows devices from the Amazon developer console in order to submit your app for publication.

Save time by using the new Amazon Input SDK

Provide your users an in-app overlay detailing the available mouse and keyboard controls with the Amazon Input SDK. The SDK can reduce your development time for creating in-app input tutorials from weeks to hours. Check out list of the common APIs in the Amazon Input SDK to learn more.

Here is a code example written in Kotlin for defining input actions using the Input SDK:

val jumpInputAction = InputAction.create(
            "Jump",
            MyGameActions.JUMP.value,
            InputControls.create(
                listOf(KeyEvent.KEYCODE_SPACE),
                emptyList()
            )
        )

val move = InputAction.create(
            "Move",
            MyGameActions.MOVE.value,
            InputControls.create(
                emptyList(),
                listOf(InputControls.MOUSE_MOVEMENT)
            )
        )

Don’t take it from us! GMonks Entertainment was able to save time and developer costs by utilizing the Amazon Input SDK to launch their puzzle game on Amazon Appstore for Windows 11. Read their story.