Steam Drops Support for Windows 7 and 8

The official Steam Hardware Survey for December 2023 shows that 98.95 percent of Windows users are using Windows 10 or 11, with just .93 percent still on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. Starting today, those users should consider an upgrade, as Valve has officially ended support for Steam on Windows 7 and 8 as of the first of the year. According to the official notification on Valve’s support page, Steam Support will be unable to offer technical support for issues related to the old operating systems, and Steam will be unable to guarantee continued functionality. The decision was made because Steam’s built-in browser relies on embedded components from Google Chrome, which has also ended support for the older versions of Windows. This follows Microsoft’s decision to end full support for Windows 7 in 2020 and Windows 8.1 almost exactly a year ago. PC gamers tend to be eager for the latest software, but some are reticent to update to new operating systems for fear of performance downgrades. However, the push from the de facto standard for PC game stores may encourage them to make the switch.