Steam Will End Support For Windows 7 and 8 Next Year

Windows 7 has been a fan-favorite operating system for a long time while Windows 8, not so much. But if you’re a PC gamer playing on Windows 7 or 8, it’s probably time to let go.

Valve has announced that Steam will no longer support Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 operating systems starting January 1st, 2024. To continue playing games, you’ll need to upgrade your operating system to the latest version otherwise you won’t be able to play them.

According to Steam’s support page, the reason behind this decision is Google Chrome. Steam uses an embedded version of Chrome’s browser to open store pages and other content, but that feature of the browser is no longer updated.

Steam Will End Support For Windows 7 and 8 Operating Systems Next Year — Windows 10 or Higher Will Be Needed To Run Steam

The support page mentions that upcoming Steam releases will rely on Windows security updates that are available only on Windows 10 and 11. Although you can’t really blame either party because Microsoft did end support for Windows 7 more than two years ago, and support for the last version of Windows 8 ended a few months ago.

Here’s the official info from Steam:

“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.”

If you’re currently playing on PC on either of the operating systems, then it’s time to pack up and move on to newer versions. But fortunately, Steam’s cloud-based nature and built-in tools for migrating should make it easier for you to upgrade to a newer operating system.

READ: Microsoft Ends $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Trial

About Steam

Steam is a video game digital distribution service by Valve Softwares. It was launched as a standalone software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games and was subsequently expanded to include games from third-party publishers. Steam also serves as an online web-based and mobile digital storefront.