San Francisco, Jul 16 (IANS): Tech giant Microsoft is likely changing how it releases significant versions of Windows again, which could mean the company may release Windows 12 in 2024.

Microsoft is shifting back to a three-year release cycle for Windows, which means the next major version of Windows is now due in 2024. It is another big change to how Microsoft develops Windows, reports The Verge.

The company initially moved away from its three-year cycle with the release of Windows 10 in 2015, prioritising the idea of Windows as a service.

Instead of a significant release of features every three years in a new Windows release, Windows 10 was updated twice a year with big new features.

For years, many Windows watchers thought Windows 10 would be the last big bang release of Windows after a Microsoft employee described Windows 10 as "the last version of Windows," citing Windows Central, the report said.

The tech giant never dismissed those comments and instead said at the time they were "reflective of the way Windows will be delivered as a service bringing new innovations and updates in an ongoing manner".

That changed with Windows 11 last year, and Microsoft moved to an annual update cadence for both 10 and 11.

Alongside the next version of Windows in 2024, Microsoft still has plans to keep Windows 11 fresh in the years ahead. The software maker has been moving away from its original promise of big annual updates for Windows 11 in recent months, preferring to ship major features once they are ready.

The next major update, 22H2, is currently expected to arrive in September or October after it was finalised recently by Microsoft.