Pour one out for the late great Windows 7: Steam has finally stopped supporting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1

SoftwarePlatformsPour one out for the late great Windows 7: Steam has finally stopped supporting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: Konami, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft)

Snake saluting the Windows 7 logo with the angelic presence of Steve Ballmer over his shoulder

On January 1, Valve ended support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, which means that users on those older versions of Microsoft’s OS will eventually not be able to use the gaming platform. “We expect the Steam client and games on these older operating systems to continue running for some time without updates after January 1st, 2024, but we are unable to guarantee continued functionality after that date,” Valve wrote in a post on theSteam support site.

It’s a bit wild that Steam still supported Windows 7 until the start of 2024. It was a remarkably popular version of the OS even after the launch of Windows 8, but it also debuted in 2009, which is very, very long in software years. To put that in perspective, when Steam debuted in 2003, the same backwards compatibility would’ve required it to support, uh,Windows 2.1. Windows is obviously a bit more mature these days, but still—one heck of a run, Windows 7.

“We strongly encourage all Windows 7/8/8.1 users to update sooner rather than later,” Valve says. “Computers running these operating systems, when connected to the internet, are susceptible to new malware and other exploits which will not be patched. That malware can cause your PC, Steam and games to perform poorly or crash. That malware can also be used to steal the credentials for your Steam account or other services.”

Ultimately Valve is speaking to a small portion of the total Steam userbase here. According to the December 2023 hardware survey, .15% of Steam users are currently on Windows 8.1, while only .06% have stuck with Windows 7. Still, with132 million monthly active usersback in 2021, there are likely hundreds of thousands of gamers still rocking old Windows machines. Perhaps this will be the push they need to finally update—though with rumors ofWindows 12 on the horizon, there’s a brand new excuse to procrastinate just a liiiiitle longer.

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