Thanks to a post today on the official Windows Team Blog, we now have a bit more information regarding the official Windows 8 release, which was expected to be released later this year. According to the blog post, we now know that Windows 8 will be released for consumer purchase in late October, confirming the fall release we’ve been hearing for a while now. This October date will be when the average consumer will be able to both purchase a new PC with Windows 8 pre-installed as well as purchase an upgrade license for installing Windows 8 onto an existing Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 computer. The blog post also notes that Windows 8 is expected to “RTM” (meaning complete development) in August.

It’s not known when TechNet, MSDN, or Dreamspark users will be able to get their hands on copies of Windows 8, however members of these various programs have historically been given access to the finalized code months before general availability. Microsoft did say that Enterprise customers with Software Assurance benefits will be given access to the code “as early as August”, so we’d expect the other programs to get their chance around the same time.

Haverzine will be covering the release of Windows 8 in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Source: Windows Team Blog