14 DAY TRIAL // New data collected by Valve’s own Steam platform for the month of January 2013 indicate that Windows 8 is becoming a much more popular choice for gamers across the world, with Microsoft’s new software recording a market share that’s very close to Windows XP’s.
Windows 7 64-bit remained the number one operating system for Steam users in January 2013 with a market share of 55.55 percent, while the 32-bit version came second with 14.18 percent.
Windows XP 32-bit, the 11-year-old software, was still third with 9.66 percent, while the recently-released Windows 8 64-bit version reached a record 8.04 percent.
Windows 8 has a combined share of 8.76 percent, up from 6.93 percent in December 2012, while Windows XP dropped from 10.44 in the last month of 2012 to 10.05 percent in January 2013.
While Windows 8 is growing up so quickly, it may seem like Microsoft’s efforts to kill Windows XP are finally paying off, with more users switching to the new operating system in the last couple of months. If Windows 8 continues to increase its share at the same fast pace, it should overtake Windows XP in the Steam survey as soon as next month.