Microsoft has announced the official release date of its next operation system, Windows 8.

Windows president Steven Sinofsky announced that Windows 8 will be launching October 26, during an annual sales meeting. The rumor is that Microsoft will abandon the traditional retail release for the OS and go down the digital only road.

Customers looking to upgrade from XP, Vista, or Windows 7 to Windows 8, will only have to pay $39.99 for the Pro version of the OS.

Will you be upgrading? Let us know in the comments below.