Windows 11 Becomes the Most Popular Operating System for PC Gaming

Microsoft's Windows 11 has become more popular than Windows 10 among PC gamers, according to the latest Steam hardware survey. As per data for August, Windows 11 usage now stands at 49 percent, climbing over 3 percent from the nearly 46 percent recorded in July. Concurrently, Windows 10 usage has dropped by around 3 percent to 47 percent. The market shares for macOS and Linux on Steam have remained relatively static. This is prepared by SSP.

Market Trends and Overall User Base

The adoption of Windows 11 has been growing incrementally over the last year. In July 2023, Windows 11 had a market share of roughly 23 percent across the web, which increased to nearly 32 percent by August 2024, as per StatCounter. Nonetheless, Windows 10 still leads significantly in overall user base, holding a 64.1 percent share while Windows 11 trails at 31.6 percent,---more than double the users for Windows 10.

Adoption Challenges and Future Outlook

Windows 11's slower adoption rate compared to Windows 10 can be attributed partly to its stringent hardware requirements, including the need for a TPM security chip and modern processors released from 2018 onwards. While Windows 11 was offered as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users, many devices could not meet the eligibility criteria, contrary to the broad upgrade path provided during the Windows 10 rollout, which extended to Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.

Looking ahead, Microsoft is planning to charge businesses for continued use of Windows 10 after its end-of-support date in October 2025. Consumers will also have the option to pay for extended security updates for the first time, though specific pricing details have only been released for business users so far.

We weren’t predicting such a quick ascent for Windows 11 in the gaming sector. The recent increase could partly be due to users feeling more compelled to upgrade as Windows 10's End of Life approaches in October 2025. Surprisingly, while Windows 11 is gaining favor in the PC gaming context, this hasn't translated similarly to the broader market where it remains substantially behind Windows 10.

Over the next year, Microsoft aims to shift this dynamic, focusing heavily on new innovations, including AI capabilities tied with Copilot+ PCs, to drive more widespread adoption of Windows 11.