diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-master.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-master.yaml
index f06eed2990e21..c89cae9e39940 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-master.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-master.yaml
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ tests:
   skip_if_only_changed: ^docs/|\.md$|^(?:.*/)?(?:\.gitignore|OWNERS|PROJECT|LICENSE)$
   steps:
     cluster_profile: aws
+    env:
+      WINDOWS_SERVER_VERSION: "2019"
     test:
     - ref: windows-e2e-operator-test
     workflow: ipi-aws-ovn-hybrid
diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.11.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.11.yaml
index ca8b0cdce1880..d8af7bab51129 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.11.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.11.yaml
@@ -87,6 +87,8 @@ tests:
   skip_if_only_changed: ^docs/|\.md$|^(?:.*/)?(?:\.gitignore|OWNERS|PROJECT|LICENSE)$
   steps:
     cluster_profile: aws
+    env:
+      WINDOWS_SERVER_VERSION: "2019"
     test:
     - ref: windows-e2e-operator-test
     workflow: ipi-aws-ovn-hybrid
diff --git a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.12.yaml b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.12.yaml
index 18c6d7b6feb67..62efe6ab232e0 100644
--- a/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.12.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/config/openshift/windows-machine-config-operator/openshift-windows-machine-config-operator-release-4.12.yaml
@@ -88,6 +88,8 @@ tests:
   skip_if_only_changed: ^docs/|\.md$|^(?:.*/)?(?:\.gitignore|OWNERS|PROJECT|LICENSE)$
   steps:
     cluster_profile: aws
+    env:
+      WINDOWS_SERVER_VERSION: "2019"
     test:
     - ref: windows-e2e-operator-test
     workflow: ipi-aws-ovn-hybrid
diff --git a/ci-operator/step-registry/windows/e2e/operator/test/windows-e2e-operator-test-ref.yaml b/ci-operator/step-registry/windows/e2e/operator/test/windows-e2e-operator-test-ref.yaml
index e968d7a7f5dac..c9aa613f18078 100644
--- a/ci-operator/step-registry/windows/e2e/operator/test/windows-e2e-operator-test-ref.yaml
+++ b/ci-operator/step-registry/windows/e2e/operator/test/windows-e2e-operator-test-ref.yaml
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ ref:
     requests:
       cpu: 1000m
       memory: 400Mi
+  env:
+    - name: WINDOWS_SERVER_VERSION
+      default: ""
+      documentation: This is an optional parameter for the Windows Server version identifier. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/deploy-containers/base-image-lifecycle. Default is empty and WMCO e2e test suite is responsible for selecting the Windows Server version.
   dependencies:
     - env: OPERATOR_IMAGE
       name: windows-machine-config-operator-test