Steam is the go-to platform for PC users to buy games. While the platform can be accessed through any browser or its software client, Valve has decided to stop providing support for older operating systems from next year.
Steam stands on top among other video game digital distribution services because of its massive game catalog featuring multiple categories and frequent sales/offers users get throughout the year. The platform has added new features which are no longer functional on older operating systems like Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1.
On March 24, the developers announced Steam will stop providing support to these older Windows operating systems from Jan. 1, 2024. The Steam client will no longer work on these platforms thereafter.
Users must upgrade their operating systems to a more recent version of Windows within this time period to have access to the store client and their purchased games. Even browsers running on older Windows versions will not be able to open Steam properly as some of Steam’s latest features use an embedded version of Google Chrome.
The developers have also mentioned future versions of Steam will require Windows’ latest features and security updates which will be available only in Windows 10 and above.
Microsoft also stopped providing support to Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 in January 2023. The lack of security updates on these older OS versions makes them more vulnerable. Hence, Valve’s decision to end Steam support on them seems to be a wise choice.
