Windows 11 is within striking distance of Windows 10 for PC gaming dominance
Windows 11 should pass Windows 10 in market share among Steam users within a few months.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
What you need to know
PC gamers continue to adopt Windows 11 at a higher rate than general users. The latestSteam Hardware & Software Survey from June 2024shows 46.63% of Steam users are on Windows 11. That figure follows a 0.55% growth for the operating system and shows a continuing trend of the newer version of Windows closing the gap on Windows 10 (49.42%).
Windows 10’s drop of 0.93% brings the operating system under 50%, meaning less than half of Steam gamers are on the OS. If current trends continue, Windows 11 will surpass Windows 10 in usage among Steam gamers in a few months.
When it comes to total market share, Windows 11 has struggled to compete with Windows 10. Despite Windows 11 being available for almost four years and Windows 10 marching toward itsend of support in October 2025, the former still only has a 29.7% market share, according torecent figures by Statcounter. Our Kevin Okemwa broke down the various factors into thesluggish growth of Windows 11recently.
READ MORE:Microsoft reveals subscription pricing for using Windows 10 beyond 2025
While Windows 11 still lags behind Windows 10 among gamers, the gap is much smaller than the one seen among general users. Gamers are quicker to adopt Windows 11 than non-gamers and we’ve seen Windows 11 inch closer to its predecessor at a steady rate. 45.15% of Steam users ran Windows 11 in April 2024. The newer OS now has a 46.63% market share, according to the June Steam Hardware & Software Survey.
Very few operating systems other than Windows 11 saw growth among Steam users in June 2024. A few versions of Windows and one version of Linux saw a rise of less than 0.1%. The only other OS that saw significant growth in that month was macOS 14.5.064, which went up 0.49%. There’s a good chance the change among macOS gamers was almost entirely from people already on a different macOS version, as evidenced by the fact that macOS 14.4.1.64 went down 0.47% in the same timeframe. Windows still only competes with itself when it comes to Steam usage.
Why gamers use Windows 11
Microsoft’s struggles to get people to switch to Windows 11 are well documented. The operating system’s strict minimum requirements cut many off from upgrading unless they purchase new hardware.Design flaws,performance issues, and theincreasing inclusion of adshave also kept some away. Despite those factors, PC gamers still use Windows 11 at a higher rate than general users of Windows 11.
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
Generally, PC gamers want to get the most out of the best PC games. Doing so often requires newer hardware and the latest software. Thebest gaming laptopsandbest prebuilt PCsare going to be new systems in almost all cases, and those devices ship with Windows 11, not Windows 10. It’s been quite a while since a brand-new gaming PC shipped with Windows 10 rather than Windows 11. Even PCs considered “old” in 2024 probably shipped with Windows 11.
With Windows 10’s end of support cutoff looming and more people buying new hardware, it seems likely Windows 11 will become the dominant operating system among Steam users before the end of the year.
Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
