It seems Amazon has decided that Microsoft is not growing its Windows 10 installed base fast enough, and, having decided that they have grown tired of developing both a win32 and Windows Store app, decided to kill the one that addresses the smaller market.

In a letter to a user they noted “for the past few years Amazon has supported two separate Kindle apps for Windows PCs” but have now decided to simplify their approach by focussing only on the Kindle for PC app, which they note that they have been updating regularly, adding features such as “multi-color highlighting, improved search performance, and support for textbooks.”

They write:

For the past few years Amazon has supported two separate Kindle apps for Windows PCs. In order to provide our Windows customers with the best Kindle reading experience, we are simplifying our approach and focusing our efforts on the Kindle for PC app.

If you are currently using our other Windows app (Kindle for Windows 8) on one or more of your PCs, we recommend that you upgrade to the Kindle for PC app to get the best reading experience and latest Kindle features. We are regularly updating the Kindle for PC app, including recent features like multi-color highlighting, improved search performance, and support for textbooks.

To simplify the experience for Windows customers, we will remove the Kindle for Windows 8 app from the Windows Store on October 27, 2016. If you already have the app installed on your PC and wish to keep using it, you can continue to download and read books as you do today. If you uninstall the Kindle for Windows 8 app, you won’t be able to reinstall it from the Windows Store.

If you have questions (or if you have a Windows RT device), please see our Kindle for PC help page.

The Store app will be removed from the store on the 27th October but will remain usable (but can not be re-installed if uninstalled.)

If you want to grab the Modern app while you can, you can find it at the link below. The Amazon Kindle for PC app in all its clunky goodness can be found here.

Do our readers think the news is an indictment on the success of Microsoft’s UWP strategy, or is Amazon simply hitting out at competitor?