Valve has released its latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey, and the April 2026 numbers show Windows 11 continuing its steady climb among PC gamers. After holding 66.65% of Steam users in March 2026, Windows 11 grew by another 0.89% in April, bringing its total share to 67.74%. That’s a clear sign that Windows 11 is becoming the default choice for a growing majority of players on Steam.
Windows 10 also saw a small but noticeable boost during the same period. Its share increased from 25.36% to 25.63%, a gain of 0.27%. While Windows 11 is firmly in the lead, these figures suggest plenty of gamers are still sticking with Windows 10, whether for familiarity, compatibility, or simply because their current setup works just fine.
Older Windows versions are now barely present in the Steam ecosystem. Windows 7, for example, sits at just 0.07% of users. Altogether, Windows continues to dominate Steam, accounting for 93.47% of the overall operating system share.
Linux, meanwhile, has had an interesting few months. It finally crossed the 5% mark in March 2026, a milestone many PC enthusiasts have been watching closely. However, the momentum didn’t hold into April, with Linux dropping back to 4.52%. Even with that dip, Linux remains an important part of the Steam landscape, especially as more players experiment with alternative operating systems and handheld-style PC gaming setups.
On the hardware side, the survey highlights the current “sweet spot” for gaming PCs. 16GB of system RAM remains the most common configuration, used by 40.86% of Steam users. But the bigger story may be the continued rise of 32GB systems. This category grew by 0.93% in April and now accounts for 37.55% of users, showing that more gamers are upgrading for modern titles, multitasking, streaming, and future-proofing.
Graphics card trends also remain consistent with what many players see in real-world builds. The RTX 3060 still holds the largest share among GPUs, and 8GB of VRAM continues to be the most common memory amount on graphics cards across Steam users—an indicator of where mainstream PC gaming hardware still sits in 2026.
Overall, the April 2026 Steam survey reinforces a few key takeaways: Windows 11 is widening its lead, Windows remains the overwhelming platform for Steam gaming, Linux is hovering just below a notable milestone, and PC gamers are increasingly moving toward 32GB of RAM while sticking heavily to GPUs and VRAM configurations that balance performance and value.
