Unfortunately, Steam won’t be support with your PC running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 drops next year. This was revealed by Valve today, and it’s all thanks to Google Chrome.
According to Valve’s characteristically terse notification, “The newest features in Steam depend on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer runs on earlier versions of Windows.” Furthermore, “Steam’s future versions will necessitate Windows feature and security updates only available in Windows 10 and above.”
Those still using Windows 7 or 8 for gaming are a very small minority. Just 0.09 percent of users are on Windows 7, whereas 1.43 percent are on the 64-bit version, according to Steam’s February Hardware and Software Survey. Even Windows 8.1 has a success rate of less than 1%.
In January, Microsoft officially stopped support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, so the warning signs have been there for some time. What does Microsoft recommend? “Get a new machine that can run Windows 11,” they said.
Nevertheless, earlier last month, Epic stopped supporting Windows 7 and 8, suggesting that devoted users of the obsolete operating systems go to GeForce Now instead.
Steam drops Windows support on older versions of Windows as of January 1, 2024. “The Steam Client will stop functioning on certain versions of Windows after the aforementioned date. Users will need to upgrade to a more current version of Windows in order to keep using Steam and any games or other items bought via Steam.”
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