Windows 11 Overtakes Windows 10 as the Most Popular OS Among Steam Gamers
Windows 11 has finally surpassed Windows 10 to become the most widely used operating system among gamers on the Steam platform. According to Steam’s August hardware survey, 50.8% of gamers using Windows PCs have adopted Windows 11, marking a 3.4% increase from July’s figures.
In contrast, Windows 10’s user base dropped to 48.7%, a decline of 3.3% compared to the previous month.
This milestone is somewhat late for Microsoft, considering that Windows 11 has been available for nearly three years. Typically, PC gamers tend to upgrade their hardware more frequently than the general population, making the delayed dominance of Windows 11 somewhat surprising.
Globally, Windows 10 still holds a significant lead. According to Statcounter’s July data, Windows 10 is installed on 64.2% of Windows PCs worldwide, while Windows 11 has yet to capture a third of the market, standing at 31.6%. With Windows 10’s official support scheduled to end in October 2025, its large user base may lead to an extension of support, possibly into 2026 or beyond.
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Insights into 2024 Gaming PC Hardware
The Steam survey provides additional insights into the current state of gaming PCs. AMD continues to gain ground on Intel, now holding exactly one-third of the market, with a 0.7% increase in the last month. The average gaming PC is now equipped with 16GB of RAM, with nearly half of the surveyed PCs featuring this amount. Additionally, over 30% of PCs have 32GB of memory, and 3.3% boast an impressive 64GB.
Nvidia maintains its dominance in the graphics card market, with the GeForce RTX 3060 being the most popular model, though it only accounts for 5.5% of the market. Full HD (1920 x 1080) remains the most common screen resolution among gamers, used by 57.3% of Windows PC users on Steam. The next most popular resolution is 2560 x 1440, with a 20.2% share.
Mac Gamer Statistics
While Macs are not typically associated with gaming, the Steam survey reveals some interesting data. The MacBook Pro is the most popular Mac model for gaming, with 34.3% of Mac gamers using it, followed by the MacBook Air at 20.9%. The iMac trails significantly, with only 6.2% of Mac gamers choosing it.
Mac users on Steam tend to have less memory than their PC counterparts. Around 45.2% of Macs have 8GB of memory, while 34.2% have 16GB. However, the unified memory in modern Apple Silicon Macs is more efficient, offering comparable performance with less RAM.
The most common screen resolution among Mac gamers is 1440 x 900, likely reflecting the dominance of laptop use over desktops. Steam’s statistics offer valuable insights for developers, helping them understand the hardware capabilities of their target audience and optimize their games accordingly.
