The Windows 11 install base seems to be expanding, contradicting the overall sentiment surrounding Microsoft's highly controversial operating system. According to the latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey results from April, Windows 11 now accounts for 67.74% of the Steam gamer base, marking an increase of 0.89% from March. This growth comes at the expense of the remaining two operating systems noted in the Steam survey, primarily Linux and macOS. Interestingly, the April data suggests that Linux-based operating systems now stand at 4.52%, a significant 0.81% decrease from March. Most Linux distributions saw a decline in user share, with only Debian Linux, Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, and Fedora Linux 43 recording a meaningful uptick. The rest experienced a decline in April, indicating some market-wide corrections among gamers worldwide. For Windows, both Windows 11 and Windows 10, which reached end of life back in October 2025, recorded increases, and the overall share of Windows-based gaming PCs grew by 1.14% in April. Now, Windows accounts for 93.47% of all gaming PCs, meaning that Linux and macOS remain relatively small compared to the dominance of Microsoft's OS. Especially among gamers, switching to a different OS seems problematic, despite recent growth rates. Even as Windows 11 has its own issues, the majority of gamers remain on the platform because it offers the best game compatibility and the lowest learning curve of all the mentioned platforms.
