Windows 11 has experienced one of the slowest adoption rates of any Microsoft operating system (OS) despite its free upgrade, taking more than three years to curry favour with gamers. Its stint at the top Steam was short lived, however, as Windows 10 has once again taken first place as of February 2025.
In the latest Steam Hardware Survey, Windows 10 64-bit has seen a monumental increase of 10.47%. This ensures over half of Valve’s tested user base runs the previous-generation OS, while Windows 11 accounts for just 44.10%.
It’s difficult to pin down exactly why Microsoft’s ageing operating system has seen such a strong resurgeance. It could be that Windows 10 is still the fastest OS for gaming or that Windows 11 has experienced a myriad of issues that people would rather avoid, including plenty this year stemming from the 24H2 update.
Whatever the case, it’s more than likely connected to the huge 20.88% uptick in Simplified Chinese users. The language made an unprecedented climb at the start of 2024 to become the most popular option on Steam, then accounting for 35% of the platform. Now making up half of Valve’s entire user base, it’s more than double that of the second most-used language, English.
Outside of the gaming bubble, migration to Windows 11 continues to trickle at a steady pace. Statcounter shows a 2% increase for each month this year. Willing or begrudging, it makes sense considering Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2025, leaving existing systems vulnerable without security updates. Continuing to use the OS will mean $61 per head for businesses and $30 per consumer.
Hiccups aside, Microsoft hasn’t exactly made the upgrade process easy. TPM (Trusted Platform Module) requirements meant only a handful of systems made the cut when Windows 11 first landed, and while it’s far more commonplace in 2025, even ex-Microsoft devs aren’t a fan of its performance.
