<p>The Windows 8.x family of operating systems had a rough November, but among gamers the recently released Windows 8.1 is performing decently. In November, gamers using the Steam platform sent Windows 8.1s market share to 6.34 percent, up 4.49 percent in the month.</p><p>Windows 8 itself ended the month at 12.11 percent, giving the larger Windows 8.x host a combined market share of 18.45 percent among Steam users. That dwarfs, naturally, OS X's market share among the gaming cohort that uses steam of 3.48 percent, and Linux's share among the same group of 0.98 percent.</p><p>Windows 8.1 grew more quickly than Windows 8 contracted, with the latter shedding 4.02 percent in the month. This mirrors what we have seen in the larger Windows market. Still, Windows 8.1s growth feels sluggish when framed against Windows 8s almost commensurate drop. To see more than 4 percent of Steam's population switch in a month to a yet nascent operating system isn't shabby, however.</p><p>As The Next Web's Emil Protalinski pointed out recently, Windows 8.1 managed to beat Windows Vista's market share in November. Vista really is over for all intents and purposes. Interestingly, among gamers Windows XP retains more market share than Vista, which came after.</p><p><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/03/windows-8-1-skates-past-windows-vista-among-steam-users-drives-windows-8-x-past-the-18-mark/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/385741/microsoft-struggles-to-shift-users-from-windows-8-to-windows-8-1">Microsoft struggles to shift users from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1</a> (PC Pro)</p><p><a href="http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/windows-81-keeps-climbing-its-own-rate-231901">Windows 8.1 keeps climbing, at its own rate</a> (InfoWorld)</p><p><a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/12/01/windows-8-falls-6-66-share-windows-8-1-hits-2-64-combined-duo-barely-grows-9-3/">Windows 8 Drops to 6.66% Market Share, Windows 8.1 Takes 2.64%</a> (The Next Web)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dgpAwl5IxxhzmqMz1zFFvV8uVVG4M&ned=us">285 additional articles.</a></p>