Windows 7 was released in 2009, while Windows 8 was released in 2012. The former had a great run, while the latter not so much, but both operating systems lasted a long while. Now, Steam is bidding adieu to both operating systems.
Valve has announced that starting in 2024, Steam will no longer work on Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1-powered PCs. The Steam client won’t run on these versions of Windows from January 1st onward, and if you want to continue using Steam, you’ll have to update your PC to Windows 10 or Windows 11.
According to the support notice, many of Steam’s features rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome. Google already ended support for Chrome on Windows 7 and 8 earlier this year — as of Chrome 110, you now need Windows 10 or higher to use Google’s browser. Also, Windows 7 and 8 are both now fully unsupported by Microsoft, so it’s not surprising to see more apps and services move on.
If this decision affects you, chances are that your computer powered by Windows 7 can run Windows 10. Windows 11 support is a bit more complicated, but it might be good to check it out if you’re planning to change computers anyway. There’s always Linux, too.
Source: Steam Support
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