Last month, it was reported that the Windows 10 user base faced a slight decline in user base, causing it to fall from an all-time high of 51.23% to 50.49%. This month, Microsoft's latest operating has slightly regained some lost ground, but it appears that its user base has stagnated.
According to Steam's hardware report - which is based on optional user surveys - for the month of August 2017, Windows 10 has grown to 50.66%. This is likely an insignificant increase which is well within the margin of error. 50.03% users utilize the 64-bit version of the OS while 0.63% run the 32-bit iteration on their respective machines.
On the other hand, Windows 7 continued to increase in market share, climbing to 38.13%, up from the 36.99% reported last month.
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It is important to remember that the statistics presented in Steam's monthly report are dependent upon optional surveys, so any changes in the user base of a particular software or hardware wouldn't necessarily represent a shift in broader usage beyond the Steam gaming community.It's tough to say if this represents any real change within the Steam community, let alone outside of it, or what might be driving such a change. Windows 10 would normally be expected to gain ground as PC gamers buy new PCs, something which they are doing at a much faster pace than the market at large, but why would 2% of them have decided to switch to 64-bit Windows 7? I have difficulty imagining a scenario which would explain it.
Whatever is or isn't happening, though, one thing seems certain: while PC gamers initially took to Windows 10 much faster than the market at large, Windows10 adoption has now slowed to a crawl among gamers, too, and Windows 7 isn't going anywhere in a hurry. Steam's level of Windows 10 penetration is still higher on Steam than in the market at large, but the rate of change is now more-or-less in line with what we're seeing elsewhere.