Steam will now require Windows 10/11 (or Linux)
January 1st, 2024 marks the day steam has ceased supporting older operating systems.
Steam has now fully discontinued support for the Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems, which were launched in 2009 and 2012. This development, previously announced by Valve, has become effective as of the last announcement.
Users operating on these versions of Windows can expect the Steam client to function for a period of time, but they should be aware that no further security updates or official support will be provided for these systems moving forward.
The rationale behind Valve’s decision is closely related to Google Chrome’s update policies. Since Steam’s client utilizes a version of Google Chrome for its operations, and given that Chrome has stopped rolling out updates for Windows 7 earlier in 2023, this has influenced Valve’s course of action. The discontinuation of broader security updates for these older versions of Windows has also been a contributing factor to this decision.
Valve strongly advises all users of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 to upgrade their operating systems promptly. Microsoft’s cessation of security updates and support for Windows 7 took place in January 2020 and for Windows 8.1 in January 2023. PCs with these operating systems are at increased risk for new viruses and security breaches when online, as these will remain unaddressed. Such vulnerabilities may compromise system performance, including Steam functionality and game stability. Additionally, these security gaps could potentially lead to the theft of user information from Steam or other platforms.
Valve recommends that users upgrade to the latest operating system versions, particularly emphasizing continued support for both Windows 10 and Windows 11. For those preferring alternatives, the option to run Steam on a Linux-based system remains available.
Source: Steam