Microsoft just took a direct shot at Apple's controversial App Store policy with Windows 11

• Microsoft unveiled the next version of its major operating system, Windows 11, on Thursday morning.
• Part of that event was a not-so-thinly veiled shot at Apple.
• Going forward, app and game makers with their own payment systems can skip using Microsoft's system.

Microsoft just took a shot at Apple with a feature in its next major operating system, Windows 11.

Going forward, the Microsoft Store will allow software makers to use their own payment systems - something Apple refuses to allow on its App Store. Rather than paying Microsoft a cut of each transaction, software makers can charge users directly with their own systems.

"If you do bring your own commerce engine, you keep 100% of your revenue," Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay said during a Microsoft livestream featuring Windows 11. "We keep zero."

It's a major point of contention between Apple and a variety of software makers, and it's at the heart of ongoing litigation between "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and Apple.

Epic Games $4 last summer after its hit game was pulled from Apple's App Store.

Apple says it pulled the game because Epic violated the terms of its developer agreement when Epic implemented a payment system in the game that enabled players to circumvent Apple's App Store. Epic says the App Store is a monopoly, and argues that $4.

Microsoft previously issued a letter to the court on behalf of Epic Games, and a Microsoft employee appeared as an expert witness during the trial. Arguments have ended for both sides in the ongoing case, and it's unknown when the judge will issue a ruling.

Windows 11 is a free upgrade for Windows users, and is scheduled to launch "this holiday," according to Microsoft.

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