Steam warns Windows 7 and 8.1 users now about end of support

Steam users who run the gaming platform on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 devices are now informed about the upcoming end of support. The message is a counter, saying that "Steam will stop running on Windows 7/8 in X days".

Valve Software announced in March 2023 that it would end support of its Steam platform on Windows 7 and 8 systems on January 1, 2024.  The two operating systems are not supported by Microsoft, the company that created them, anymore, and software and hardware companies have started to end support for these systems ever since.

Steam users who still use Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices won't be able to run the client anymore come January 1, 2024. In other words: any game or DLC that has been bought on Steam can't be run anymore on these systems.

Valve Software gave two reasons for its decision. First, because the embedded Chromium core does not support Windows 7 or 8.1 anymore either, and second, because future Steam versions would rely on security and non-security features present only in Windows 10 and newer versions of the Windows operating system.

Both Windows 7 and 8.1 devices can be upgraded to Windows 10. Windows 10 has the same system requirements, and most devices should upgrade without larger issues. Microsoft changed the system requirements in Windows 11, and a good number of devices can't be upgraded to the latest Windows operating system because of that.

Windows 10 reaches end of support in October 2025. This gives Windows 7 and 8.1 users who have not upgraded yet more than 2 years of access to Steam, before another decision has to be made. Some may be able to upgrade their devices to Windows 11 to extent support further.

Most may not be able to do so because of the system requirements. A viable option in that case would be to switch to a Linux distribution, for which Steam is also available. It would ensure continued support for Steam on the device and thus all, or the majority of, games in the user's library.

Valve ended end of life warnings in the latest Steam update. The warnings are displayed if Steam is run on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, macOS 10.11 or macOS 10.12 systems.

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