Steam has signalled the end of support for the Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, citing the software’s reliance on an embedded version of Google Chrome that similarly is ceasing support for the older Windows versions as well as features and security native to Windows 10 and above.
As of January 1st, 2024, Steam users will be required to update their copy of Windows to Windows 10 or higher, otherwise they will no longer be able to use Steam.
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The full statement reads:
“As of January 1 2024, Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows.
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.”
As of January 1 2024, Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. https://t.co/NIUZ4UdJU4 pic.twitter.com/fts2C7IchF
— Wario64 (@Wario64) March 28, 2023
Windows 10 first became available in 2015, and Windows 11 in 2021, so there’s been a reasonable amount of time for Steam users to have updated their operating systems already – but if you’re one of the roughly 6.5% of users worldwide still running Windows 7 or Windows 8 and you’re still working through that Steam Sale backlog, you’d better get around to fixing that.
The initial announcement of these changes comes by way of an “End of Life” alert in the latest Steam Beta Client Update, which also comes with the following changes:
Steam Beta Client Update: March 27th
- Added “End of Life” alert for Windows 7/8/8.1. Steam Client support for these operating systems will end on Jan 1st, 2024 at 10am. See here for additional details.
- Display an error if the user is trying to log in anonymously in the client. This mode is only supported for steamcmd.
- Uninstalling a game no longer displays a modal dialog
- Fixed “Manage Storage” button opening the storage settings page
- Fix soundtrack cover art not appearing in content management panel
- Fixed popup menus opening at the wrong DPI in multi-monitor mixed-DPI configurations.
- Removed support for -oldbigpicture command-line option
- Fixed some styling issues in the Quick Access Menu > Friends List
- Fixed some issues with notification toasts appearing in the wrong location in multi-monitor setups or with different DPI settings
- Apply text filtering preferences in Guides in the Overlay
- Removed soundtracks from All Collections since it has its own tab
- Fixed an issue where two settings pages could be visible at once
- Fixed the switching of monitors when going in/out of BPM at start up
- Fixed overflowing friends list when sharing a screenshot
- Expand the hitbox of buttons in the footer to make them easier to click
- Fixed issue where a game’s specific uninstall UI was not visible
- Increase responsiveness of the “Joystick Deadzone” visualization
- Gyro As Joystick can now optionally output to Left Joystick
- Fixed Gyro’s Left/Right Stick Deflection Modifier not working
- Fixed Modeshift bindings not being removable when viewing the command on the input
- Fix Steam Overlay crash in some games using Metal graphics API
