After Windows 10 support ended, Windows 11's market share actually decreased

Support for most Windows 10 users ended on October 14, 2025, and those who want to keep receiving security updates (primarily businesses) must purchase an Extended Security Updates (ESU) subscription. And with that, Microsoft's big push for consumers, businesses, and schools to use Windows 10 has been to either upgrade existing systems to Windows 11 or buy a brand-new Windows 11 PC.

2

Windows Version Market Share, image credit: StatCounter

The migration process has been slow to say the least, withStatCounter's data showing that Windows 11 only became the most popular version of the operating system worldwide in June 2025 - almost five years after its launch. And Windows 10's market share hasn't changed much in the past six months; it's at 42.7% as of the end of November 2025. In fact, when you compare October 2025's figure to November 2025, Windows 10 market share actually grew.

• Read more: Valve's latest Steam client update no longer support Windows 7 and Window 8 systems
• Read more: Windows 11 market share surpasses Windows 10 globally
• Read more: Windows 10 turns 10 years old, Microsoft celebrates by abandoning it

And in that same period, as support for Windows 10 officially ended, Windows 11's market share actually decreased from 55.2% to 53.7%. It's a surprising stat that reflects the general consumer sentiment that Windows 11, despite its focus on AI tools to enhance productivity, is an inferior OS.

That said, it's a different story when looking at PC gaming. According to the latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey results for November 2025, Windows 11's market share among PC gamers on the Steam platform is now 65.59%, while Windows 10's market share has dropped to 29.06%.

PC gamers have always been early adopters of new Windows versions because new graphics and rendering technologies, alongside new anti-cheat systems, are generally optimized for the latest OS and APIs like DirectX. That said, Windows 11 has not been a trouble-free experience for PC gamers, as recently as last month, a random security update caused performance (FPS) in games like Assassin's Creed Shadows to drop by 50%.

Where does this leave Windows 11? Well, as we head into 2026 and the current uncertainty surrounding prices for PC hardware, we can probably expect the operating system's market share to grow - albeit slowly.