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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteWindows 11 is the leading operating system among Steam survey participants in the latest surfaced report, August 2026. It accounts for 70.97% of all reported Steam configurations, compared with 22.90% for Windows 10. In the Windows-only view, Windows 11 holds 75.53% and Windows 10 24.37%. Linux (3.90%) and macOS/OSX (2.14%) are much smaller shares, but “don’t matter” is an opinion rather than something this survey measures.
What the August 2026 Steam survey actually shows
Valve’s Steam Hardware & Software Survey reports operating-system shares for participating customers. The combined-platform table uses every reported configuration as its denominator:
| Platform or operating system | Share of combined Steam configurations | What the number means |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 64-bit | 70.97% | August 2026 survey share |
| Windows 10 64-bit | 22.90% | August 2026 survey share |
| Linux | 3.90% | All Linux configurations in the combined view |
| macOS/OSX | 2.14% | All macOS/OSX configurations in the combined view |
| Windows, all versions | 93.95% | Total Windows share in the combined view |
These are percentages of reported configurations, not a count of people, copies of Steam, or installed PCs. Windows 11 and Windows 10 therefore should not be added together and treated as the Windows-only table: that table has a different denominator.
Windows-only figures use a different denominator
The Windows-version detail at Steam’s DirectX and Windows survey page excludes Linux and macOS before calculating the percentages:
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| Windows version | Share of Windows-only configurations | Change from July 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 64-bit | 75.53% | +0.52 percentage points |
| Windows 10 64-bit | 24.37% | −0.51 percentage points |
The two views answer different questions. The combined table tells you how large each platform is among all surveyed configurations; the Windows-only table tells you how Windows users divide between versions.
Windows 11’s recent direction
Steam’s Windows-only monthly values show Windows 11 rising and Windows 10 falling from April through August 2026:
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| Month | Windows 11 | Windows 10 |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 71.80% | 27.16% |
| May 2026 | 74.33% | 25.57% |
| June 2026 | 74.86% | 25.04% |
| July 2026 | 75.01% | 24.88% |
| August 2026 | 75.53% | 24.37% |
This five-month sequence confirms a recent upward movement for Windows 11 within the Windows-only table. It does not establish the month when Windows 11 first overtook Windows 10: every value shown here already has Windows 11 ahead. “Dethrones” is accurate as a description of the current lead, not as a documented date for the historical crossover.
How small are Linux and macOS on Steam?
In the August combined view, Linux is 3.90% and macOS/OSX is 2.14%. Windows as a family is 93.95%, so both alternative desktop operating systems are minority configurations among the Steam participants represented in this release.
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That is a prevalence result, not a verdict on platform quality. The figures do not measure the number of playable games, Proton or native compatibility, performance, user satisfaction, developer strategy, or future growth. A small share can still represent a meaningful community or a strategically important test market.
What Steam’s methodology lets you conclude
Steam describes the process this way: “Steam conducts a monthly survey to collect data about what kinds of computer hardware and software our customers are using. Participation in the survey is optional, and anonymous.” See the participation description on the official survey page.
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- The source is a monthly survey of Steam customers who participate, not a census of all PC gamers.
- Steam’s published description does not state a response count, sampling frame, weighting method, or margin of error.
- The percentages should therefore be reported as survey shares and not generalized to every gamer, every gaming PC, or the whole computer market.
What this means for PC gamers
For Windows 11 users
Your operating system is now the dominant configuration in both relevant readings of the August release: 70.97% of all reported configurations and 75.53% of Windows-only configurations.
For Windows 10 users
Windows 10 remains a substantial Steam population at 22.90% of combined configurations and 24.37% within Windows, despite its lower position in the latest report.
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For Linux and macOS users
The survey indicates smaller populations—3.90% for Linux and 2.14% for macOS/OSX—but it does not imply that games are unavailable or that these users are irrelevant. Compatibility and support still depend on each title and technology stack.
How current is this snapshot?
August 2026 is the latest Steam report surfaced for this comparison. A September release was not surfaced at the time of the cited coverage, so the percentages should be treated as a point-in-time August snapshot. Steam’s monthly page can change as a newer report is published; the current coverage link is Steam’s survey detail view.
Quick Recap
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