Microsoft announced Wednesday afternoon that Windows 8 will be released on October 26.

“Mark your calendar: Windows 8 will be available on October 26th, 2012,” Microsoft’s Windows account tweeted.

Microsoft seems to have a preference of launching operating systems in October, as Windows 7 was launched in October of 2009.

The official announcement was made by Stephen Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, at  Microsoft’s Global eXchange (MGX), an annual  meeting of Microsoft’s executives and product managers.

Microsoft has said that users with PCs running Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 when the OS becomes available.

Windows Phone 8 will launch some time this fall, and this date is expected to be near the launch date of Windows 8.