2025 – The Year of Linux? Or is it Microsoft's 'Forcing You to Buy a New PC' Ploy?

This week, The Restart Project – an organization that advocates for the right to repair – issued a new statement regarding the upcoming end of support for Windows 10. They called on Microsoft to consider extending the lifecycle of Windows 10, and reintroduced the 'End of Windows 10 toolkit', which included a rather interesting recommendation: users should install Linux on machines that are not eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade.

Not only the Restart Project, many other organizations also joined the 'campaign to entice' Windows users to switch to Linux. The Endof10 project, supported by KDE, released a series of tutorials, promoting the advantages of Linux over Windows. The Document Foundation - the father of LibreOffice - carefully analyzed the 'true cost' of using Windows 11. Some Linux distributions such as Zorin OS were also quick to take advantage, teasing a major update with the promise: 'Faster, more powerful, and the perfect alternative to Windows' .

It sounds like Linux will 'take the throne' after Windows 10 support ends. But in reality, that's not the case. According to the latest report by Jon Peddie Research (JPR), most users do not switch to Linux but choose to. buy a new computer running Windows 11.

Ted Pollak, gaming analyst at JPR, said:

'In the history of Windows, there has never been a time when users were forced to upgrade to new hardware to continue using it. And this time, it's not just a graphics card that can be replaced – you need to upgrade the CPU, which requires a motherboard change, and even RAM. This affects more than 100 million gamers.'

Instead of 'modifying' old computers to run Windows 11, many gamers and DIYers choose to build a new PC alongside their old computers, continuing to play on Windows 10 while gradually switching to Windows 11. Those who are less knowledgeable simply buy a prebuilt PC running Windows 11, as Microsoft officially recommends.

The catch: PC and gaming PC sales are surging globally – a sign that Microsoft's plan is working. Instead of extending the Windows 10 lifecycle, the company is gently forcing users to spend money on new machines, and most of them… obediently comply.

Marvin Fry

Update 23 September 2025