Steam Ceases Official Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1

Valve, the group that made Steam for PC games is ending help for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Window 8.1 from January 1st in year 2024.

Starting from January 1, 2024, the Steam Client will stop working on Windows 7/8/8.1. This means it won’t get help like setting up or fixing things and no more updates including security fixes will come its way after that date.

The main reason for stopping backing is because very important Steam functions depend on a built-in version of Google Chrome. This now doesn’t work with older Windows editions anymore.

Also, Microsoft stopped making security updates for Windows 7 in January 2020 and for Windows 8.1 in January 2023. This means that computers without these safety updates can be attacked by new bad software and other tricks, which won’t get fixed. So, Google also stopped helping with Google Chrome on Windows 7.

An old system lacks safety, making it easy for bad people to get into your Steam login or other services. This can also harm your computer’s performance and crash games on Steam.

To keep working with Steam and any games or items you bought on it, Valve suggests switching to a newer version of Windows.

Older operating systems might still work with Steam client and games after January 1, 2024. But it’s not certain if they will keep running forever past that date. In simple words, it’s a good idea to update your device because older Windows versions won’t get any new updates.

Valve also says that future versions of Steam will need Windows features and security updates only found in Windows 10 or newer.

For extra details about stopping support for Steam on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 please check the official Steam Support website.