Microsoft Windows news: Steam survey reveals Windows 7 is still the most popular gaming OS
Despite Microsoft's efforts to improve and introduce new features for Windows 10, its predecessor, Windows 7 is still more popular for gamers, as a recent Steam survey shows player preference for the older version of the Windows platform over the newer operating system (OS).
Apparently, Windows 7 has dethroned Windows 10 in the recent October survey for the most used OS by Steam users. Windows 7 has had a dramatic increase from September's 42.45 percent to last month's 64.90 percent, an increase of 22.45 points. Windows 10, on the other hand, has dropped from 18.16 points from 46.97 percent to just 28.81, barely a third of all the Steam users.
This sudden change was attributed to the game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," the most popular game on Steam right now. TechSpot suggests that the game's immense popularity in China, the most populated country in the world, was responsible for the two OS switching places, as Windows 7 is still being widely used in the country.
This assumption was backed up by Steam's own language stats, where the number of people speaking Chinese increased to 56.37 percent during October, consequently dwarfing the English speaking demographic at 21.24 percent, which is a 13.4 decrease from the previous numbers.
It also seems that China deems Windows 10 as being too invasive, with its government and people having suspicions that the OS can actually be used for spying. This is why the OS is banned from government systems despite Microsoft launching a customized version for authorities this year. Chinese private citizens, on the other hand, simply prefer Windows 7 over 10.
This may either compel Microsoft to renew its support for Windows 7, or to further improve the privacy and security features of Windows 10 in order to meet the preferences of one of its biggest markets. Still, China threatening to ban "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" may have adverse effects on the popularity of Windows 7, meaning Windows 10 could eventually take the top spot in the Steam surveys, should the Chinese demographic drop out of the scene.
