The Windows 11 market share It looks like a roller coaster. Despite having had the system with us for more than 2 years, and that Windows 10 is now only a few weeks away, the market share of this system is still far from what was expected. Microsoft no longer knows what to do to get users to upgrade to this system before Windows 10 runs out of support and problems begin. Of course, there is a group of users that seems to be updating en masse to this new system: the players.
Like every month, Steam publishes the results of its hardware survey that allows us to know, more or less, what the trends are in terms of hardware and software among gamers. We can see that Intel and NVIDIA reign over AMD, and that 8 GB of RAM and mid-range graphics are the queens among gamers. But we can also see how the use of operating systems is changing. And, to everyone’s surprise, Windows 11 is growing much more than expected among these players.
In this latest survey, more than 45% of players have already upgraded to Windows 11 and they are playing using this operating system. It is true that Windows 10 is still ahead of it (with 51%), but while this system has lost 3.38% of players in a month, Windows 11 has gained 3.58%.
On the other hand, Linux and macOS have lost users overall, although their loss is minimal, with 0.04% and 0.03% respectively.
Is Windows 11 worth it for gaming?
That Windows 11 grows and gains users is not only good news, but it is also logical. All new computers sold already come with this operating system. And with the shadow of the end of support lurking in the corner, little by little users are updating to this system.
However, is it really a good OS for gaming? Let’s analyze it. It is clear that Microsoft and games go hand in hand, both on Xbox and PC. The Xbox uses a modified version of Windows 11, so the games are optimized for this system, and PC gamers, of course, benefit from this.
We must also take into account that Windows 11 has APIs that allow you to improve games such as DirectStorage, Auto-HDR or DirectX RayTracing. And little by little the games are being optimized for Windows 11, leaving Windows 10 in the background, so it is also another reason to install it if we are thinking of using the computer to play. Security is also another important factor, since we do not want to be hacked while we are playing a game.
But also, Windows 11 has some drawbacks. For example, such strict requirements mean that many users do not even consider it, because their computers do not support it. And to that we must add that, as a general rule, it consumes many more resources than Windows 10, so games can run slower and have less FPS while we play. Even due to the security features of Windows 11 based on virtualization, there are games that work better in 10 than in the new Microsoft system.
If we are only going to use the computer to play, Windows 10 can be an excellent option, even when it runs out of support.