Steam has announced that it will discontinue support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. This change will go into effect starting next year on January 1, 2024. Valve will be discontinuing support because its Steam client relies on Google Chrome, which no longer offers support for the previously mentioned versions of the Windows. Going forward, users will need to use a PC or laptop running Windows 10 or above, in order to properly use Steam. If you have yet to do so, now would be a great time to upgrade your PC to Windows 10.

Steam Software Survey showing percentage of Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 users

According to Steam's own software survey, there aren't many on the platform that are currently running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. As far as the February numbers go, you're looking at 1.52 percent of users running on Windows 7, and 0.34 percent running on Windows 8.1. So, if you are currently running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 on your PC or laptop, you're very much in the minority.

Although users can always update to Windows 10 for free, there could be some users out there without a means to update, which will inevitably leave them locked out of their games and disappointed. While upgrading to Windows 11 is also possible, most older computers will not be compatible with the update due to CPU and TPM restrictions.

If you choose to update to Windows 10, you'll be glad to know that the operating system will be supported until 2025. Although this is not a lot of time, it does give you a couple more years of life out of your gaming hardware when it comes to Steam compatibility. After that point, you will likely need to upgrade your PC hardware to make it compatible or just purchase a new gaming PC.


Source: Steam

Via: PC Gamer