[WorldMaker]

.NET 4.8 is the last .NET to be bundled with Windows. It's a legacy stack, but it exists on every Windows >= 10 so it is a legacy stack that makes deployables easy (just assume it is installed). (.NET 4.8 is the new VB6.)

With .NET 9 right around the corner, how far behind the legacy stack is only increases.

.NET > 5 will never be installed out of the box on Windows PCs. The trade offs to that concession however are: cross-platform support, better container support, easier side-by-side installs support ("portable" installs). .NET > 7 can do an admirable job AOT compiling single-file applications. For a GUI app you probably aren't going to easily get that single-file < 40MBs yet today, but it's going to be truly self-contained and generally don't need a lot of specific OSes or things installed at the OS level. Each recent version of .NET has been working to improve its single-file publishing and there may be advances to come.