Steam to End Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 in 2024
Valve has announced that Steam will no longer operate on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 versions as of January 1st, 2024, requiring players to update to a more recent operating system to access any games purchased through the platform.
Steam to End Support for Older Windows Systems
Valve, the company behind the popular gaming client Steam, has announced that it will no longer be supporting older Windows operating systems from January 1, 2024. The announcement states that Steam will no longer operate on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 versions. Players will need to update to a more recent operating system to access any games purchased through Steam.
According to a monthly Steam hardware survey from last month, only 2% of players use these older operating systems, making the decision less alarming. Moreover, most recent games no longer support Windows 7 and 8, so the removal of old-gen OS isn’t that surprising. Microsoft also ceased supporting those versions of Windows in January 2023, meaning they will no longer receive security updates.
The reason for the decision to stop supporting older Windows systems is that the newest features rely on Chromium, an embedded version of Google Chrome that no longer functions on those older versions. “In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows features and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above,” the announcement read.
Valve will be putting resources into supporting new generation operating systems rather than bringing updates to older versions used by significantly fewer players. The hardware survey reveals that 62% of users run the application on Windows 10, which means the potential removal of this version will affect millions of players. However, Microsoft is gearing up to end support for Windows 10 starting in 2025, so players can expect Steam to cease supporting this operating system shortly after Microsoft puts it on its dusty shelves.
Pokdepinion: Like with most other PC software, this needs to happen to ensure better support and security. Otherwise, the team will have to keep allocating resources specifically for the older OS.
