14 DAY TRIAL // The adoption of Windows 11 is slowly but surely improving, but on the other hand, it’s not a secret that the whole thing is making process at a pace that Microsoft most likely didn’t expect.
In other words, not everybody seems to be excited with Windows 11, despite all the improvements that are part of this new operating system.
And the most recent statistics provided by Valve for Steam are just living proof on this front.
More specifically, it looks like gamers aren’t necessarily over the moon with Windows 11, as Windows 10 continues to be the operating system of choice for playing games on Steam.
Let’s look at the latest set of adoption numbers and see how Windows 11 is doing.
Windows continues to be the number one platform for playing games on Steam, and this isn’t necessarily a surprise. However, despite all the efforts to improve gaming on Linux and Mac, Windows is still the dominating platform with a share of 96.15 percent on Steam, up 0.04 percent from the previous month.
macOS is the runner-up but obviously far behind, and its share isn’t by any means surprising. Apple’s operating system is installed on 2.48 percent of the devices where Steam is also running, and this represents an increase of 0.03 percent from November 2022.
Linux, on the other hand, has declined 0.06 percent, so it’s now powering just 1.38 percent of the computers where gamers are running Valve’s application.
When it comes to Windows alone, Windows 10 is unsurprisingly the number one in the charts. No less than 65.42 percent of the devices are powered by this operating system, a decrease of 0.18 percent from the previous month. In so many ways, this shows not only that Windows 11 isn’t necessarily everybody’s cup of tea but also that the updated system requirements that were introduced with Windows 11 more or less impacted a significant number of devices in Microsoft’s customer base.
All these devices continue to run Windows 10, as the operating system will continue to be supported until October 2025.
Windows 11, on the other hand, is powering 28.42 percent of the computers where Steam is responsible for the gaming experience, and this represents an increase of 0.44 percent from November. Clearly, Windows 11 isn’t growing at the speed that Microsoft expects to see happening given how much effort it put into promoting the operating system, but the good news is the share at least keeps going up. It certainly happens slower than anticipated, but at least it’s increasing.
The third choice in the Windows world is none other than Windows 7. The operating system no longer receives updates since January 2020, and with a combined market share of 1.77 percent, it’s even more popular than any macOS version and all Linux versions combined. The share of Windows 7 on Steam, however, went down 0.22 percent last month.
Windows 8.1 is also being left behind by Steam users, so its share is now at just 0.41 percent.
Whether or not Windows 11 will eventually overtake Windows 10 on Steam is something that remains to be seen, but for the time being, it’s pretty clear that the migration to the new operating system is happening slower than anticipated.
With Windows 10 set to receive updates for nearly three more years, Windows 11’s struggle is very likely to continue. The good news is that Microsoft keeps rolling out further improvements for Windows 11, so sooner or later, more and more users should have more incentives to move to the latest operating system.