Are You Still Playing Steam Games on Windows 7 or 8? Consider Upgrading Your OS Soon

For those of you still clinging to Windows 7 or 8 and love diving into Steam’s gaming universe, it might be high time to think about an upgrade.

The reality of technology is that every software eventually reaches its sunset. This is especially true for operating systems, and it’s quite understandable that giants like Microsoft and Apple eventually opt out of supporting older versions that most users have moved on from. The same goes for long-standing software developers, such as Valve, which has been home to countless games on Steam since the era of Windows XP. Back in January, Valve made it official that they were ceasing support for Windows 7 and 8. What does this mean for you? Essentially, Steam Support won’t be there to troubleshoot any problems users encounter on these outdated systems.

Fast forward 11 months (thanks to PC Gamer for bringing this to our attention), and we’ve hit the point where Steam has released its first update that Windows 7 and 8 users simply can’t download. According to the update, “This version of the Steam client will no longer run on Windows 7 or Windows 8,” and those sticking with these systems won’t get this fresh version. Sure, there are many perfectly valid reasons to still be using these older versions—after all, updating a PC isn’t always wallet-friendly—but it’s worth noting that as of October, only about 0.29% of Steam users were still on Windows 7.

In an amusing twist, it turns out that not a single respondent in the survey still uses Windows 8, which some would argue is for the best given its rather infamous reputation. It’s somewhat surprising that it took Valve this long to pull the plug on support, especially as Windows 11 gains traction in households worldwide. But, sometimes, these changes do require a bit of time.