14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10 is growing pretty slowly in the global desktop OS market, but as far as gaming is concerned, Microsoft’s latest operating system is doing way better, with the latest statistics provided by Valve showing continued growth every month.
For example, the most recent figures for the Steam platform show that in October, Windows 10 improved its share by 0.70 percent, reaching a record 47.98 percent. Windows 10 is thus moving closer to the 50 percent milestone that was until recently exclusive to Windows 7, which has long been the preferred choice for gamers across the world.
The 64-bit version of Windows 7 is the runner-up in last month’s statistics, with a share of 28.66 percent and a decline of 0.33 percent. Windows 8.1 64-bit completes the podium with 8.70 percent, up 0.07 percent from the previous month.
What’s interesting is that the 32-bit version of Windows 10 actually lost some users, as it’s down 0.06 percent to 1.35 percent.
Windows still leading the Steam ecosystem
Overall, Windows continues to be the top desktop operating system for gaming with 95.46 percent, up 0.04 percent from September, as neither MacOS nor Linux are seen as good alternatives for those who want to play games on a PC.
Apple’s Mac OS X is currently at 3.52 percent, down 0.02 percent, with version 10.11.6 still leading the chart with 1.20 percent. Linux is far behind with just 0.89 percent, a decline of 0.04 percent.
The biggest drop last month in the Windows ecosystem was recorded by the 64-bit version of Windows 7, which lost 0.33 percent of the users, as many probably moved to Windows 10 - the upgrade to Windows 10 can be performed free of charge if the OS was installed before July 29.
Surprisingly, Windows XP 32-bit is still there with 1.36 percent, but it experienced a drop of 0.12 percent from the previous month.