Story Highlights
- Steam has announced its end of support for computers using Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
- The platform will still run on the aforementioned operating systems but only until January 2024.
- Steam calls it the need of time since the latest updates are merely supported on older OS.
Steam will end support for computers with older operating systems next year. For some Steam users who’re still clinging to Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, it might be time to let go since Valve will no longer support these systems from January 1st, 2024. The announcement came on Steam support, where the company stated that users would not be able to access the store using these obsolete systems anymore.
Users will have to upgrade to the latest operating systems in order to keep running Steam or to access their library. Steam is the foremost gaming platform, almost an essential use for PC gamers, and moreover, a leading digital store. With the latest technologies kicking in, older versions prove to be incompatible and fail to run the latest updates and features.
Steam, however, has put most of it on Google Chrome as to why they’re suspending their support for aforementioned systems, saying, “The newest features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of Windows. In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above.”
So if you’re still stuck to your older windows, no matter how comfortable they are for you, Valve needs you to step out of your comfort zone and upgrade to the latest OS. According to the latest Steam hardware and software survey from February 2023, 62% of users have upgraded to Windows 10, 32% are on to Windows 11 and about 2% of users make up for the usage of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
Earlier, when Steam stopped backing the even older OS, it was still possible to use Steam because the log-in window was not based on Chromium. However, now even though the login window is based on Chromium, it’s entirely possible to run Steam Client on operating systems not supported by it. Anyways, you still have another eight months to upgrade to the latest OS.
- To inform you, Microsoft itself has suspended support for these versions of windows, which means no more security updates. In any case, upgradation to the latest OS would be our recommendation.
In other news, Steam’s success is no joke, as the platform gained a new user for almost every second of 2022. A massive number of 83,000 users every day, with the autumn sale earning an average of around 134 new purchasers every minute. The platform gained 1.4 million new users during the autumn sale week.
In any case, the nightfall for the users of outdated Windows versions has set in, with Steam putting a final nail in the coffin.
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