Windows 11 Surges on Steam as RTX 4060 Tops Midrange GPUs (Sept 2025)

Background​

• Windows 11 (64‑bit): 63.04% of Steam respondents (up +2.65 percentage points month‑over‑month).
• Windows 10 (64‑bit): 32.18% (down -2.90 points).
• Most common GPU among respondents: an Nvidia RTX 4060 laptop GPU (and the 4060 family overall leading the midrange mix). Steam’s public table and independent reporters both show the 4060 variants holding the top slots in September.

Overview: What the September snapshot actually shows​

Windows 11’s momentum on Steam​

GPU landscape: midrange Nvidia rules​

Memory, CPU, and other hardware trends​

• System RAM: 16 GB remains the single most common configuration among Steam users, though 32 GB continues its steady climb—evidence that heavier workloads and high‑texture AAA games are nudging gamers toward higher capacity.
• CPU split: Intel still occupies the majority of detected CPU vendors in the Steam sample, but AMD’s market share on Steam has been climbing and reached notable levels in recent months according to multiple analyses. Exact vendor percentages vary slightly depending on which Steam table snapshot you pull, but the trend is a narrowing gap.

Why September moved the needle: the drivers behind the numbers​

1) The Windows 10 end‑of‑support calendar​

2) OEM flows and new hardware defaults​

3) In‑market inventory and pricing​

What this means for gamers, developers, and businesses​

For gamers: immediate and practical implications​

• Security and support: Gamers remaining on Windows 10 past October 14, 2025, will need to enroll in Microsoft’s ESU program or accept growing security risk as updates end—unless they buy new hardware that runs Windows 11. Microsoft’s ESU options are documented for consumers and vary by region and enrollment method.
• Compatibility and features: Windows 11 unlocks platform features that increasingly matter to modern games: improved scheduling for hybrid CPUs, DirectStorage for faster load times on NVMe SSDs, and tighter OS/driver stacks for anti‑cheat systems and modern driver models. If Windows 11 continues to concentrate among gamers, developers will feel less pressure to maintain full feature parity on older OS versions.

For developers and publishers​

• Fragmentation reduced: A clear majority of Steam users on Windows 11 lowers the practical fragmentation developers must support. That gives room for teams to adopt Windows 11‑specific APIs (or at least de‑prioritize Windows 10 test matrices sooner). However, this is only true within the gaming segment—enterprise and broad desktop telemetry still show slower overall Windows 11 penetration.
• Anti‑cheat and driver expectations: As Valve and the gaming ecosystem move toward modern driver stacks and OS‑level features, anti‑cheat systems and middleware vendors will increasingly assume 64‑bit Windows 11 environments—raising maintenance costs for legacy support. Game studios should plan QA and certification pipelines accordingly.

For hardware vendors and OEMs​

• Product planning: The midrange market is where volume lives. Steam’s repeated top placements for xx60/xx70 cards underline buyers’ price‑to‑performance preferences. Vendors should optimize SKUs, drivers, and marketing around that midrange sweet spot.
• Laptop segment importance: The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU topping the list in multiple months highlights the continued centrality of gaming laptops to Steam’s sample. OEMs that balance battery, thermals, and competitive pricing will continue to shape the long‑tail of the installed base.

Strengths of the Steam survey data—and where to be cautious​

Strengths​

• High signal for gamers: Steam’s dataset is large, consistent, and targeted at active PC gamers, so it reliably represents the hardware and software mix of the community that buys and plays modern AAA titles. That makes it especially valuable for developers and gaming‑focused hardware businesses.
• Monthly cadence: Monthly snapshots allow observers to detect adoption velocity (not just absolute share) which is crucial when deadlines (like Windows 10 EOS) compress user behavior into short windows.

Caveats and risks​

• Sample bias: Steam’s voluntary sample skews toward enthusiasts, newer hardware, and systems that run Steam frequently. That means Steam numbers typically overstate the pace at which the general desktop market (enterprise PCs, older machines, kiosk and embedded systems) moves. Treat Steam’s figures as a gamer‑segment indicator, not a global OS market truth.
• Short‑term volatility: Month‑to‑month swings of a few tenths or even one or two percentage points can reflect inventory shipments, a hot sale on a particular GPU, or even a Steam client update. Large strategic claims should be grounded in multi‑month trends rather than a single snapshot.
• Naming and detection quirks: Steam detects GPUs and labels them based on driver and device reporting. That can produce split lines (desktop vs laptop SKU, OEM rebrands) and misclassification that tilt the apparent ranking. Interpret model‑level claims carefully and reference the Steam table’s raw naming when making precise product calls.

The broader competitive picture: Nvidia, AMD, Intel​

• Nvidia remains dominant on Steam. Multiple independent analyses and the Steam table place Nvidia’s share of discrete GPUs near the mid‑70s percentage point range in September, with AMD roughly in the high teens and Intel integrated/on‑die graphics forming the remainder. That dominance explains the midrange‑centric presence of RTX 4060 family cards.
• AMD’s CPU story is mixed but improving. On the CPU side, AMD has been steadily increasing its share among Steam respondents—driven in part by Ryzen X3D popularity—though Intel still holds a majority in many snapshots. The CPU battle on Steam is closer than it once was, and a prolonged trend could tilt OEM choices.
• Intel’s hybrid scheduling and platform efforts keep it competitive on OEM platform share, and that remains reflected in Steam’s processor‑vendor breakdowns. Exact splits vary by month and filter, so analysts should cross‑check the Steam tables when making firm product decisions.

Operational and security ramifications: Valve and Microsoft timelines intersect​

1. Microsoft’s Windows 10 end‑of‑support on October 14, 2025, with consumer ESU options extending limited security updates into 2026 under specific terms. That timetable is a concrete prompt for upgrade behavior and is documented in Microsoft’s support guidance.
2. Valve’s decision to end Steam client support for 32‑bit Windows versions in 2026 (announced in recent coverage) will further tighten the environment for very legacy systems and simplify Valve’s client development but may leave a tiny portion of users without official client updates. Those two timelines together accelerate the practical retirement of legacy Windows configurations in the gaming segment.

Practical guidance for readers (clear, prioritized steps)​

1. If you’re on Windows 10, confirm eligibility for a free Windows 11 upgrade via Settings > Windows Update; otherwise, review Microsoft’s ESU options to maintain security if immediate upgrade is impossible.
2. For builders and buyers targeting longevity, consider a 32 GB RAM baseline if you plan to run modern AAA or modded titles—Steam’s trend shows 32 GB gaining traction rapidly.
3. If you maintain a gaming service or publish games, plan QA around 64‑bit Windows 11 scenarios as the majority of Steam users already run the OS. Keep Windows 10 testing in your pipeline but prioritize Windows 11 feature testing where cost/benefit dictates.
4. For hardware vendors and OEMs, continue to optimize midrange GPU SKUs and laptop thermals—these categories drive volume in Steam’s population and influence community sentiment and buyer behavior.

Where the data is uncertain or contested​

• Some secondary numbers differ slightly between snapshots and media writeups—especially on CPU vendor splits and certain memory percentage points—because Steam’s online tables present various month ranges and aggregated filters. Analysts should always fetch the raw Steam table and note the filter (Windows only vs combined) when quoting absolute decimals. When cross‑checking with independent press analyses, treat the Steam site as the source of truth for the sampled snapshot and the press writeups as interpretation.
• The Steam sample overstates early adopter behavior relative to the whole desktop market; global web‑traffic trackers (StatCounter et al.) typically show lower Windows 11 penetration outside gaming, especially in enterprise and developing markets. Use Steam for gamer segmentation signals and broader trackers for population‑level claims.

Final analysis: what to watch next​

1. October 2025 cadence: Expect a non‑linear uptick in Windows 11 adoption around the Windows 10 end‑of‑support date as late upgraders and prebuilt shipments register in Steam’s sample. That will be visible in Valve’s October snapshot if migration velocity continues.
2. RTX 50‑series diffusion: The RTX 50‑series will start to register more meaningfully if supply improves and MSRP stabilizes—watch the top‑100 GPU list for reorders of 50‑series parts displacing older 30/40‑series entries.
3. Memory tipping point: Monitor whether 32 GB overtakes 16 GB in the coming months; a sustained majority for 32 GB would have downstream implications for dev build targets and recommended specs.