Windows 10 Nearly Hits 50 Percent Market Share On Steam Hardware And Software Survey
Microsoft is doing everything within its power to get everyone with a PC to upgrade to Windows 10. While not without the occasional controversy, its efforts are paying off, particularly among gamers. According to the latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey, almost half of all players who use the digital distribution platform are now running Windows 10.
The figure stands at 47.44 percent for Windows 10 64-bit, an increase of 2.77 percent compared to a month ago. Another 1.51 percent of gamers on Steam are using the 32-bit version of Windows 10, bringing the overall tally to 48.95 percent. It's feasible that Windows 10 usage on Steam will surpass Windows 7 by the end of the year, the latter of which stands at 34.66 percent combined (28.74 percent use Windows 7 64-bit and another 5.92 percent use the 32-bit version).
It's an interesting ascent for Windows 10, though not terribly surprising. Microsoft gave the OS away for free as an upgrade to anyone who was running a legitimate copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, and it's still available at no cost for people with accessibility needs. That alone could explain why Windows 10's numbers are looking so good.
On top of that, gamers are prone to make the jump for DirectX 12 compatibility. Microsoft's latest DirectX API is only available in Windows 10, and while there aren't a ton of titles that support DX12, they're growing in number. And if you're a gamer building a new PC, unless you have a serious aversion to Windows 10 for whatever reason—privacy concerns, perhaps—it doesn't make sense to roll with an older version.
Be that as it may, it's still interesting to note that Windows 10 is the only Windows OS that saw its share of Steam users grow last month. Every other version of Windows saw a decline. Meanwhile, Mac OS X mostly stood still across the board (there were some small gains and dips), while Linux continues to show a slow and gradual ascent.
The figure stands at 47.44 percent for Windows 10 64-bit, an increase of 2.77 percent compared to a month ago. Another 1.51 percent of gamers on Steam are using the 32-bit version of Windows 10, bringing the overall tally to 48.95 percent. It's feasible that Windows 10 usage on Steam will surpass Windows 7 by the end of the year, the latter of which stands at 34.66 percent combined (28.74 percent use Windows 7 64-bit and another 5.92 percent use the 32-bit version).
It's an interesting ascent for Windows 10, though not terribly surprising. Microsoft gave the OS away for free as an upgrade to anyone who was running a legitimate copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1, and it's still available at no cost for people with accessibility needs. That alone could explain why Windows 10's numbers are looking so good.
On top of that, gamers are prone to make the jump for DirectX 12 compatibility. Microsoft's latest DirectX API is only available in Windows 10, and while there aren't a ton of titles that support DX12, they're growing in number. And if you're a gamer building a new PC, unless you have a serious aversion to Windows 10 for whatever reason—privacy concerns, perhaps—it doesn't make sense to roll with an older version.
Be that as it may, it's still interesting to note that Windows 10 is the only Windows OS that saw its share of Steam users grow last month. Every other version of Windows saw a decline. Meanwhile, Mac OS X mostly stood still across the board (there were some small gains and dips), while Linux continues to show a slow and gradual ascent.
