Windows 11 Surpasses 70% Market Share on Steam as AMD Closes the Gap on Intel

Windows 11 has surpassed a 70% market share among Steam users, according to hardware survey data released by Valve. This milestone reflects a continuing migration of the gaming population from Windows 10 to Microsoft’s latest operating system, while simultaneously showing a narrowing gap in processor market share between AMD and Intel.

The data comes from the Steam Hardware & Software Survey, which tracks the components and software environments of users who have the Steam client installed. These metrics serve as a proxy for the broader PC gaming demographic.

Windows 11 adoption has climbed steadily since its 2021 release. The latest figures indicate that the majority of Steam users now operate on the newer OS, reducing the footprint of Windows 10 as users upgrade hardware or perform clean software installations.

The shift is often tied to hardware requirements. Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 and specific CPU generations, meaning the 70% threshold is reached as gamers replace older systems with newer builds that support the OS by default.

How is the CPU market share shifting between Intel and AMD?

Valve’s latest report shows AMD continuing to gain ground on Intel within the Steam ecosystem. While Intel historically maintained a dominant lead in desktop processor installations, the gap has shrunk as AMD’s Ryzen series maintains high penetration among gaming builds.

This trend suggests a shift in consumer preference toward AMD’s multi-core performance and efficiency, which are frequently cited in hardware benchmarks as advantages for modern gaming and streaming workloads.

Why does Windows 11 market share matter for gamers?

The transition to Windows 11 is significant because of specific gaming features that are exclusive to the newer OS. These include Auto HDR and DirectStorage, a technology designed to reduce game load times by allowing the GPU to load game assets directly from an NVMe SSD without relying on the CPU.

As the user base crosses 70%, developers have more incentive to optimize titles specifically for Windows 11 features, potentially leaving Windows 10 users with a less optimized experience in future releases.

The data also highlights the persistence of a minority of users on older operating systems. While Windows 11 leads, the remaining percentage consists of Windows 10 users and a small fraction of macOS and Linux users, the latter of which has seen growth following the release of the Steam Deck.

What does this mean for future PC hardware trends?

The correlation between Windows 11 growth and AMD’s rising share points to a broader cycle of hardware refreshment. Users are not simply updating their software; they are buying new machines.

Because Windows 11 is a requirement for certain new hardware optimizations and security standards, the 70% mark indicates that the “legacy” era of Windows 10 gaming is entering a period of decline. This puts pressure on Intel to recapture the share lost to AMD through its latest architectural updates.