Valve's latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey for May 2025 reveals a significant shift in the gaming community's operating system preferences, with Windows 11 now leading the pack. The survey indicates that Windows 11 has reached a new high, capturing 58.3% of the market share among Steam users, marking a 0.46 percentage point increase from the previous month. In contrast, Windows 10's share has declined to 37%, a decrease of 1.09 percentage points. This trend underscores a growing adoption of Windows 11 among gamers, likely influenced by its enhanced gaming features and the impending end of support for Windows 10 in October 2025.
Despite its age and lack of support, Windows 7 still maintains a presence, with 0.10% of Steam users reporting its use. This is noteworthy given that Steam no longer provides updates for Windows 7, and users risk losing access to their game libraries at any time. With the free upgrade path from Windows 7 to Windows 10 closed, these users face the necessity of purchasing a new computer or a Windows 10 license to stay current.
Overall, Windows continues to dominate the gaming landscape, holding 95.45% of the Steam user base, albeit with a slight decrease of 0.65 percentage points. Linux has seen a modest increase, now at 2.69% (+0.42 points), while macOS holds 1.85% (+0.23 points). The rise in Linux usage may be attributed to growing dissatisfaction with gaming experiences on Windows, particularly on handheld devices. Reports suggest that Microsoft has paused its handheld console development to focus on improving Windows gaming performance.
In terms of hardware, the most common PC configuration among Steam users includes 16GB of RAM (43%), a 6-core CPU (29.79%), an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card (4.56%), 8GB of VRAM (33.67%), and a 1080p monitor (55.35%). Nvidia continues to lead the GPU market with a 74.18% share, followed by AMD at 17.62% and Intel at 7.85%. On the processor front, Intel holds a 59.69% share, with AMD close behind at 40.31%.
These statistics highlight the dynamic nature of the gaming community's preferences and the ongoing evolution of hardware and software choices among gamers.
Source: Neowin More gamers are switching to Windows 11, according to Valve
