Steam offers support for a variety of different operative systems, but in a few months, older versions of Windows will be left behind due to a specific reason, Valve confirmed today.
With an update posted on the Support website, it has been confirmed that Steam will no longer support Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 from January 1st, 2024. From this day, the Steam Client will no longer run on these versions of the operative system, and users will be required to update to Windows 10 or Windows 11 to continue using Steam and all products purchased through it. This was caused by Google Chrome no longer supporting older versions of Windows, as the newest Steam features rely on an embedded version of the web browser.
On a related note, a new Beta Client update has gone live, introducing a variety of new features and improvements. Among the additions, which include some Steam Deck and Steam Input fixes, is an End of Life alert that warns users still on Windows 7/8/8.1 of end of support for these operating systems on January 1st, 2024. The full update notes can be found by going here.
While support dropping is always bad news, Steam no longer supporting older versions of Windows isn’t going to impact most of the user base. According to the latest survey held last month, of the Steam users using a Windows operating system, only 1,43% are still on Windows 7 64 bit, 0,34% on Windows 8.1 64 bit and 0,09% on Windows 7, so it was only a matter of time before support would be dropped.
