The latest stats from Steam's monthly hardware survey of its users indicate that just over 25 percent of them access the popular PC gaming service with either a Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 PC.
The numbers, updated this week for the month of June 2014, show that 25.11 percent of Steam users access it via some version of Windows 8 and 8.1. The percentage combines not only the two operating systems from Microsoft but also the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of each SKU. Windows 8.1 64-bit is currently the second most used OS on Steam overall at 16.19 percent, but is still well behind that of Windows 7 64-bit, which is number one at 49.41 percent.
The numbers come from an optional hardware survey that Steam users can decide whether or not to join, which then automatically sends the OS and hardware information inside their PC rigs from their Steam client to servers at Valve, the company that owns and runs Steam.
A few days ago, Net Applications's updated data, collected via users who surf to their websites, showed that Windows 8 and 8.1 are installed on just 12.54 percent of all PCs worldwide. While the Steam survey is optional and therefore cannot cover all of the service's 75 million active users, it would suggest that hardcore PC gamers, who tend to be more comfortable in buying new hardware and software than the casual consumer, are adopting Windows 8 and 8.1 at a much faster rate.
What do you think these Steam hardware survey stats mean in the long run for Windows 8/8.1?
Source: Steam
