September Steam survey marks historic low for Intel and sustained growth for AMD

Every beginning of the month, the Steam Hardware and Software Survey puts the focus back on the real PC, the one that people turn on to play at night. September 2025 leaves a clear reading: Intel drops to its lowest share on record among Steam users (58.61%) while AMD rises to 41.31%. There are no swerves, but there is a sustained streak: since June, AMD has added around two points; Intel loses them in dribs and drabs.

What the Steam survey really measures

Before drawing conclusions, it is worth remembering the framework: Steam is not a census of the complete market, it is the showcase of those who play on PC. It has biases (regions that weigh more, cyber booths, specific campaigns that inflate certain models), but its value is in the trend. And there the line is clear: AMD cuts, Intel gives in. That we are not facing jumps of 5 points per month does not diminish its importance; What drives the industry is consistency.

The figures and the curve: the surprise enters the calendar

With 58.61% vs 41.31%, the distance has narrowed like never before. If both maintain the current pace, the crossover on Steam in favor of AMD could become a reasonable hypothesis. For Intel, the data is uncomfortable because it comes after several launches that, on paper, equaled or surpassed AMD in specific games and reinforced its advantage in content creation. The problem is not technical, it is traction.

Why AMD is rising: X3D, price and perception

The engine of progress has a name and surname: Ryzen X3D. The 3D V-Cache boosts FPS on many engines where memory latency matters, and the results are seen in both benchmarks and real games. Added to this is an aggressive pricing policy, bundles and competitive pre-assembled equipment in the mid/high range, right where a large part of the enthusiastic public decides. The message that resonates is simple and powerful: “if I play, AMD gives in and it pays for me.”

Why Intel doesn’t stop: there is a product, there is no story

Intel continues to be the single supplier with the largest share and maintains serious assets: mature ecosystem, good multithreading performance and a very strong presence in OEMs. What’s wrong then? Two things:

Price/performance ratio in gaming which does not end up breaking the narrative in favor of AMD on the street.
Communication: Parity in “key” games is not the same as sustained superiority in the catalog that people play every day.

As long as the user perceives that, for the same budget, AMD “is noticeable” more in FPS and that the offers appear more frequently, the curve will continue to push.

Chain effect: manufacturers, retailers and studios take note

Steam percentages do not remain in a table. If AMD’s pie grows, motherboards, memories and sources align with that demand; retailers adjust inventory and campaigns; and studies prioritize optimization on the platform with more potential users. We are not talking about abandoning Intel, we are talking about distributing QA resources in a different way. And that, with tight margins, counts.

What to watch a year from now: three scenarios

Inertial scenario: AMD keeps promotions and supplies X3D well. It crosses Intel on Steam and is steadily reducing its disadvantage.
Intel reaction scenario: clear price reduction and SKUs tailored to gaming. This stops the bleeding and stabilizes it.
Bottleneck scenario: supply problems or rising prices in memories/GPUs. The consequence: the user postpones purchases and the curve flattens.

Reading for the buyer who is going to upgrade

You play in 1080p/1440p and you care about FPS: The Ryzen X3D are still a safe bet; If the budget rules, a “conventional” Ryzen well accompanied by a GPU performs more than paying a premium for the CPU in GPU-bound games.
You do editing/rendering in addition to playing– The balance can return to Intel for specific threads and speedups; here, the decision is not binary.
Pre-assembled equipment: If you are looking for a balanced configuration (fast RAM, decent SSD, reliable source) and comparing AMD vs. Intel packs, the price can be decisive.

What should everyone do?

Intel: adjust pricing where it hurts, reinforce the story with broad sets of games (not just the ones that work best) and tie agreements with OEMs and retailers that once again put their builds on the cover.
amd: not fall asleep. Maintain stock and margins, avoid the temptation to “raise rates” in the heat of the tailwind and take care of BIOS/AGESA support so that the experience is plug & play.

September doesn’t bring an earthquake, it brings another notch in the same direction. Intel is still up, yes, but at its lowest on Steam; AMD, a little closer every month. When a curve is sustained for a year in a row, it stops being noise and becomes a script. And the script, today, says that the real gaming PC (the one in the graph that opens the afternoon) is leaning towards AMD based on performance in titles that matter and prices that fit on the spreadsheet. The ball is in Intel’s court.