- Windows 11 has surpassed Windows 10 as the most installed desktop operating system.
- Windows 11 is powering 52% of total PCs, compared to 44.59% of PCs running Windows 10.
- With over 59.84% of users on Steam, Windows 11 is also the top gaming OS.
Windows 11 had a rough start when it initially came out at the end of 2021. But after almost 4 years down the line, it has finally managed to take over Windows 10 as the most installed desktop operating system across the globe.
According to the data by Stat Counter, the number of desktops running on Windows 11 has surpassed that of Windows 10, with over 52% of the total market share. In comparison, Windows 10 still runs on 44.59% machines. This news comes just weeks after Microsoft announced another year of free security updates for Windows 10.
The adoption rate of Windows 11 has seen a steady rise over the past couple of years. It now ranks as the number one gaming OS according to Steam’s hardware survey of June 2025, with over 59.84% of Steam users running Windows 11. This is despite many gamers still considering Windows 10 as the better option for gaming experience. This is a significant jump from last year’s number of 46%.
The biggest factor behind the rise of Windows 11’s growing number seems to be Microsoft dropping support for Windows 10 in the coming months. Plus, the latest OS also brings support for a lot of Copilot AI features. Moreover, as people upgrade to newer machines, Windows 11’s hardware requirements such as TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, no longer seem to be an issue.
Windows 10 is slated to reach its end of life on October 14th this year, and we will likely see Windows 11’s number grow even more by that time, even though Microsoft is offering another year of free security updates to die-hard Windows 10 users.
