Valve, the developer behind the popular PC gaming platform Steam, has officially ended support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 operating systems as of January 1, 2024.
Steam Drops Official Support For Windows 7, 8, and 8.1
As of January 1, 2024, the Steam Client has discontinued on Windows 7/8/8.1, which means it will no longer receive support services, including installation, system requirements, technical support, and updates of any kind “including security updates.”
The primary reason for withdrawing support is that the core features in Steam depend on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which is no longer compatible with older Windows versions.
Also, with Microsoft ending security updates for Windows 7 in January 2020 and Windows 8.1 in January 2023, computers without security updates are susceptible to new malware and other exploits that will not be patched. Subsequently, Google too ended support for Google Chrome on Windows 7.
The vulnerability of your outdated system makes it an easy target for cybercriminals to steal the credentials of your Steam account or other services or cause your PC, Steam, and games to perform poorly or crash.
Valve advises users to upgrade to a more recent version of Windows to ensure the continued operation of Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam.
The company expects the Steam client and games to work on the older operating systems for some time, even without updates for the client after January 1, 2024. However, it is not guaranteeing continued functionality after this date. In other words, upgrading your device to the latest Windows version is advisable, as these older versions won’t receive any future updates.
Valve further adds that the future versions of Steam will require Windows features and security updates that are only present in Windows 10 and above.
For more information on the end of support for Steam on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, check out their official Steam Support website.
