Even though Windows 10 is to be retired next October, a sizeable proportion of PC gamers are still refusing to upgrade. The latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey data show that around 32.8% of Steam users remain on Windows 10.

Considering Windows 11 has been around for over two years with all the new features and longer support, this is a rather huge figure. While adoption rates for Windows 11 are increasing and currently residing at nearly 67% with Steam users, the staying power of Windows 10 amongst the gamer community speaks volumes.

Gamers Cite Stability and Compatibility as Key Reasons

Compatibility is one of the strongest reasons that keep players stuck to Windows 10. Many older games, mod tools, graphics drivers, and peripheral setups have been calibrated with Windows 10-any upgrade might mean the sudden onslaught of annoying bugs or hardware oddities.
Performance benchmarks still tend in some cases toward Windows 10, especially for older games or on systems that do not have full support for Windows 11’s features. Meanwhile, several users are held back from the upgrade because of its complicated requirements (TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, update interruptions).

What Steam Survey Data Reveal About OS Transition Trends

The Steam survey market share for Windows 10 among gamers is slowly declining but steadily. Its decline from about 37% in mid-2025 down to 32.8% some months later proves that migration has begun-but not fast.

This is no simple swap, however. Gamers tend to upgrade their hardware less often than lay PC users, and older systems may not qualify for the requirements for Windows 11. That inertia means Windows 10 remains the lowest common denominator for many gamers-even outside its mainstream support window.

Macromedia And Gamers Need to Pay Attention to OS Survival

For game developers, hardware manufacturers, and peripheral designers, the staying power of Windows 10 means that dual-platform considerations remain pertinent. Titles that are optimised exclusively for Windows 11 run the risk of excluding or not servicing one-third of the Steam PC audience.
For gamers, to run Windows 10 on a not-supported platform opens them to non-feature updates, less driver improvement, and probably a decrease in security patches. With the approach of Microsoft’s official end date for support, planning a transition is becoming of utmost importance, even if right now it feels more like a choice.

Steam hardware survey Dataset and commentary from industry witnesses seem to prove that Windows 10 is not fading away as fast as many had cursorily assumed when it comes to the gaming sector. Whether that says comfort, caution, or hardware limitations, the ramifications will permeate across gamers, developers, and hardware makers alike.

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News Source: PCmag.com