Steam data shows Microsoft has time to fend off the looming threat of SteamOS

It's no secret that Windows is the dominant platform for PC gaming, especially when it comes to Valve's Steam platform. According to the Steam Hardware & Software Survey Results for June 2025, 95.6% of PC gamers are gaming on a Windows-based desktop, laptop, or portable handheld gaming system, with 59.8% of PC gamers using Windows 11.

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Although the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 has been a relatively slow uptick in the broader consumer and enterprise PC market, as gamers gravitate toward the latest hardware and software, Windows 11 has been the dominant operating system there for some time.

That said, in recent months, Valve has slowly expanded access to its custom Linux-based SteamOS operating system, as first seen on the Steam Deck gaming handheld and more recently with the Lenovo Legion Go S. And with several reports indicating the games run notably faster on SteamOS versus Windows with the same hardware, there's a lot of hype surrounding additional SteamOS handhelds and dedicated gaming PCs.

The idea of a 'Steam Box' that connects to a TV is not new; however, rumors suggest that an accessible SteamOS-powered console-like PC is on the way soon. If popular, this could start to make a dent in Windows' dominance in the PC gaming space.

However, Microsoft isn't sitting idly by waiting for this to happen, as it is repositioning Windows to be "the number one platform for gaming." Xbox President Sarah Bond recently outlined this as part of an AMD partnership announcement, stating that the company is developing a version of Windows that essentially behaves like an Xbox or SteamOS, with reduced overhead and a controller-friendly UI.

The expectation is that this will boost gaming performance on new devices, with the first set to arrive later this year in the form of the ROG Xbox Ally from ASUS. And with this shift to Xbox and Windows being interchangeable, the company has also been hinting that its next Xbox console will be a PC hybrid, and that other companies will release Xbox-licensed consoles in the form of mini PCs.

How this will all play out remains to be seen, but based on the success of the Steam Deck, which legitimized the portable PC gaming handheld market with SteamOS, Valve is well-positioned to expand its OS reach. However, with 95.6% market share, Microsoft has time to respond.