Valve has cut Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 support for Steam

Valve’s Steam game client for PC is cutting support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. which means anyone still using those versions of the OS will need to update soon. In truth, Valve has already cut support for these versions of Windows. On the Steam Support page, Valve confirms that support ended officially on January 1, 2024. Today is January 2, so Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 users will no longer receive support from Valve.

This doesn’t mean Steam will stop working, of course. Users on these older versions of Windows will continue to have access to Steam and their Steam library. But at some point, there will come a time when things may not work as intended. Users will also need to consider any security concerns and/or risks that could come along with having outdated software. Just like having an out-of-date phone or PC OS, an out-of-date Steam client will come along with similar potential issues in the future.

And that’s not something you want to be spending a lot of time (or money) investing in. The Steam client is tied to your payment information and other personal data after all. And the less secure it is, the more at risk you are of a breach where your information falls into the hands of people you don’t want to have it.

Lack of support on Windows 7 and 8 could cause Steam to stop working

That is, eventually. As mentioned above, Steam isn’t just going to stop working altogether now for anyone on those older versions of Windows. Chances are Steam still works for all of those users. There aren’t many left to begin with but those that remain no doubt still want Steam to function properly. And it should for a time. But this won’t be the case forever. “We expect the Steam client and games on these older operating systems to continue running for some time without updates after January 1st, 2024, but we are unable to guarantee continued functionality after that date,” Valve says.

According to Valve, as noted in the Steam Hardware & Software Survey (spotted by TechRadar) less than 1% of Steam users are still on Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. And given that low number, it’s probably no longer viable for Valve to continue supporting those users.

Valve says it highly recommends people on these older versions of Windows update when they can. As Microsoft no longer supports them either.

For Steam, users on these versions of Windows will no longer get any future updates and that includes security updates. But that also means users will miss out on any updates that include new features. And those new features are a large part of what makes Steam such a good PC game client.