What you need to know
Windows 11 reaches its fifth anniversary with 71.5% desktop market share and 71.34% among Steam users, ahead of Windows 10 in both groups. Despite criticism of its requirements, telemetry, AI features, and performance, Microsoft says improving performance is a 2026 goal, with PC gaming among its priorities.
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Microsoft’s Windows 11 arrived for the general public on October 5, 2021, available as an upgrade for Windows 10 users and as a new operating system for purchase. This week, the OS is celebrating its fifth anniversary, and its desktop market share sits at 71.5%, compared to Windows 10’s 27.8%. This mirrors the OS’s adoption among PC gamers, as the latest data from Steam shows Windows 11 at 71.34% market share compared to 23.61% for Windows 10.
Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 crossed the one billion global user milestone faster than Windows 10, which took 1,576 days compared to 1,706 days. Windows 11 also saw a large influx of new users after Windows 10 became end of life after October 14, 2025. Of course, market share and sentiment differ, and over the years Windows 11 has drawn its fair share of criticism and controversy.
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These range from cutting off a large portion of PCs and laptops with the TPM 2.0 requirement to telemetry baked into every corner of the OS to integrating several AI features and tools that add bloat, bugs, and instability. Lackluster Windows 11 performance has been a point of contention in recent years, and Microsoft has publicly stated that improving it is a goal for 2026.
- Read more: Microsoft plans to bring Windows 11 closer to SteamOS with Project K2
- Read more: Windows just saw a dramatic drop in OS market share on Steam as gamers move to Linux
- Read more: Microsoft is committed to making Windows 11 the ‘best place to play’ PC games
For PC gaming, Windows 11 performance is widely criticized, to the point where there’s genuine excitement and interest in custom Linux builds like Valve’s SteamOS. That said, as part of its focus on improving performance, Microsoft noted that PC gaming is one of its priorities, especially with its next-gen Xbox Project Helix device, which is set to be a console and PC hybrid that will run a gaming-focused version of Windows.
What factors helped Windows 11 reach one billion users faster than Windows 10?
Windows 11 was available as an upgrade for Windows 10 users and as a new operating system for purchase. It also gained a large influx of users after Windows 10 reached end of life on October 14, 2025. Windows 11 reached one billion users in 1,576 days, compared with 1,706 days for Windows 10, but the story does not establish how much each factor contributed.
How much did Windows 10 reaching end of life contribute to Windows 11’s recent adoption?
What Windows 11 performance improvements has Microsoft planned for 2026, especially for PC gaming?
How do Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirements affect upgrades on older PCs?
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This fifth anniversary also comes alongside Microsoft’s recent major 26H2 update, which didn’t add any major new features but instead focused more on rolling out fixes, updates, and consolidating recent feature additions the operating system has received this year.
