Steam officially ends support for Windows 7 and Windows 8
In a surprising announcement, Steam has decided to end its support for operating systems Windows 7 and Windows 8, starting February 1, 2024. This means that users still running these outdated versions of Windows will no longer be able to access their Steam. library, download new games or receive updates and patches for your existing games.
Steam's decision comes as a result of the company's declining market share. Windows 7 and Windows 8, which together represent less than 5% of Steam users, according to Steam's latest hardware and software survey.
Steam claims that supporting these legacy operating systems is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive as they no longer receive security updates or feature improvements from Microsoft.
Steam also cites the need to focus on improving its platform's performance and compatibility with the latest technologies, such as DirectX 12, Vulkan, ray tracing, and VR. By removing support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, Steam hopes to offer a better gaming experience to its users who have upgraded to Windows 10 or newer versions of Windows.
Steam advises its users who are still using Windows 7 or Windows 8 to update their operating system as soon as possible, before the deadline of February 1, 2024. Users who do not do so will lose access to their account and their games. Steam, and you won't be able to recover them unless you update your operating system. Steam also warns that some games may not run correctly or may not run on unsupported operating systems, even if they are installed locally.
Steam's decision to end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 is likely to affect a small but loyal group of gamers who have resisted upgrading their operating system for various reasons. Some may have compatibility issues with their hardware or software, some may prefer the user interface or features of older versions of Windows, and some may simply be reluctant to change their habits.
However, Steam's decision is also likely to encourage more developers and publishers to optimize their games for the latest versions of Windows, which could benefit most Steam users in the long term.
Steam's latest hardware survey reveals that nearly 99 percent of Windows users on the platform have upgraded to Windows 10 or 11, leaving only a small fraction of users running Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. However, those users will no longer receive support from Valve, as the company has officially announced that it will stop supporting Steam on Windows 7 and 8 starting January 1.
"This means that Steam Support will not be able to assist users with technical issues related to outdated operating systems, and Steam cannot guarantee that the software will continue to function correctly," reads the official statement on Valve's support page.
The reason for this decision is that Steam's internal browser depends on built-in components of Google Chrome, which has also stopped supporting previous versions of Windows. While Steam may still run on Windows 7 and 8 for a while, Valve makes no guarantees. The company urges users to update their operating systems as soon as possible to avoid potential problems.