In case you somehow missed it, Microsoft is saying goodbye to Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, when support for security updates will come to an end. This means PC gamers who have been adamant about staying away from Windows 11 will be left with a few options.
The first is simply staying on Windows 10, and if doing so, I’d say it’s compulsory to sign up for the Extended Security Updates (ESU) scheme to get another year of updates. (Do not try running an operating system without the latest security patches).
Another choice could be to finally upgrade to Windows 11 – assuming your PC meets the hardware requirements – or you could even switch to the bloatware-free Tiny11 spin on Microsoft’s OS.
Or you could leave the Microsoft ecosystem entirely and switch to Valve’s SteamOS. If you’ve read any of my previous articles on this topic, you’ll know that my favored recommendation is SteamOS, but there are pros and cons whichever choice you make.
In some respects, Valve’s SteamOS (which is Linux-based) is a better bet for gamers than Microsoft’s desktop OS – it clearly is for handhelds – boasting a streamlined game mode that essentially replicates a gaming console’s user interface for couch play, and is designed to allow players to jump into games without much hassle. It’s not all perfect in SteamOS, though, as there are compatibility wrinkles – notably several popular multiplayer games (like Call of Duty) use anti-cheat and won’t run on the operating system. On top of that, using certain game mods can sometimes be a bit of a pain.
Windows 11 is still a great operating system for gaming, and you won’t run into any stumbling blocks in terms of incompatibility here. It’s also generally easy to get to grips with and simple enough in terms of the nuts and bolts of files and folders (file systems can be more cumbersome in Linux, certainly for computing novices). Microsoft is also delivering a similar simple game mode experience to SteamOS, with the upcoming ‘full-screen experience’ launching on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally.
Where Windows 11 falls down is with some of the frustrating bugs that can occur with the monthly updates (which are forced onto your PC – at least with Windows 11 Home, where you can only briefly delay their installation). This was particularly evident with Windows 11 24H2 breaking games, alongside oft-voiced criticisms online around bloatware and background processes messing with gaming performance.
If you’d rather avoid Windows 11, and SteamOS isn’t your bag either, so your preferred route is to stick with Windows 10 under the ESU scheme, there’s one big drawback worth noting on the PC gaming front. Capcom recently announced that it will be dropping support for Monster Hunter games on Windows 10 – and other game publishers will surely follow in its footsteps.
This will surely affect new releases from Capcom, too. While I’m sure the highly anticipated Resident Evil Requiem will work fine on Windows 10, I won’t be surprised if players start to face issues either at launch or later down the line. When future game updates aren’t checked with Windows 10, problems may inevitably creep in – and the developer won’t address them.
You may have ongoing security updates for Windows 10 with the ESU scheme, but if your games aren’t being supported, that could become a big problem – and you can bet it won’t just be Capcom doing this.
It’s likely a long way down the road, but there’s now no guarantee that Rockstar’s GTA 6 will run well on Windows 10 – or even support it. I know, that sounds like a stretch, and it would be a surprise if it didn’t support Windows 10 considering how accessible GTA 5 was. However, we’re looking at possibly 2027 or 2028 for GTA 6‘s eventual launch on PC – the grand picture for Windows could look quite different then.
In my opinion, publishers dropping support for Windows 10 could affect so many other upcoming (or unannounced) games, that it might be best to save yourself the headache with all this and pick your upgrade path now.
If I were forced to choose, I’d pick SteamOS, but I have to recommend Windows 11 for those who can install it
In my eyes, SteamOS is the better operating system compared to Windows when it comes to ease of use for gaming, but Valve’s OS isn’t quite there just yet for most desktop PC users.
For handheld gaming PCs, SteamOS is an absolute no-brainer, and I’d recommend choosing it over Windows 11 every time, since it’s no secret that Microsoft’s OS isn’t very handheld-friendly. Microsoft is introducing the full-screen experience game mode, though, which tames background processes and bloatware, and ultimately frees up more resources for games to use in Windows 11 – but I’m still not convinced it’ll dethrone SteamOS for me.
However, it’s a rather different picture on desktop PCs, and that’s where I would recommend Windows 11 (for now). Since there’s no official support from Valve to install SteamOS on desktop PCs, you’d have to rely on its clone, Bazzite, which has much better support.
Even then, unless you’re using AMD hardware, you’ll likely run into issues with Bazzite’s Game Mode, specifically with Nvidia GPUs. Unless you plan on using the SteamOS desktop mode (which defeats the purpose of SteamOS), you’ll run into issues with apps like Discord – this is one of the reasons why I haven’t yet switched to Bazzite on my desktop PC – and you may also run into games with compatibility issues.
For some of you, these issues might not be deal-breakers, and if that’s the case, then obviously you should go ahead and try Bazzite. Otherwise, it could be wise to upgrade to Windows 11 – the good thing about its latest update, version 25H2, is that it’s not likely to be as problematic with bugs as 24H2 (given that 25H2 is only a very minor upgrade).
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