The advent of the New Year ushered in not just fresh beginnings but also a pressing reminder for Windows 7/8/8.1 users to consider a system overhaul. As committed back in March, Steam officially terminated support for these operating systems on January 1st.
The Conclusion of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 Lifecycle
The cessation of life support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 arrives amidst a notable decline in the prevalence of these operating systems. Recent statistics from December reflect a mere 0.89% share of these OSes among Steam users.
By contrast, Windows 10 emerged as the preference for 53.45% of Steam users in December 2023, while Windows 11 was adopted on 41.95% of computers. This shift heavily influenced Valve’s decision, aligning their focus with these newer platforms.
Rationale Behind Steam’s Decision
Furthermore, critical features integral to Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome incompatible with older Windows iterations. Moving forward, Steam will mandate security updates solely available on Windows 10 and later versions.
Impact on Users and Necessary Steps
The discontinuation of support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 implies that users relying on these operating systems can no longer launch the Steam client or access their libraries, notes NIXSOLUTIONS. To regain access, users are compelled to update their operating systems and/or consider a PC upgrade.