At the Windows 8 Developer Days Conference in Japan, Microsoft announced that it will be launching the much-awaited Release Preview version of Windows 8 in the first week of June. Microsoft believes that the short spree you are currently enjoying with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview has to end – very soon. According to the Twitter account of the Building Windows 8 blog, the next phase will be to launch the Release Preview of Windows 8 sometime in June, true to previous rumors.
We’re looking at October as the month for the final build of Windows 8 to start shipping globally. But with regards to the specific details of the Release Preview version, Microsoft could possibly extend its Windows Store services in 38 markets while increasing the number of app catalogs as well. As you can see, those who were able to test the Consumer Preview of Windows 8, particularly those in the U.S., France, Germany, India and Japan, are seeing specific app catalogs on the platform. But for the rest, they can only see a “Rest of the World” catalog. Too bad.
Thankfully, Microsoft took notice of the concern by adding 33 more countries to the current existing five markets available to developers. The said countries are the following (in alphabetical order): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and United Kingdom.