Steam will stop supporting Windows 7 and 8 in 2024.

[ferratilis]

https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A

Windows 7 and Windows 8 Support
As of January 1 2024, Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows.

The newest features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of Windows. In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above.

 

[janior]

why people still use windows 7 anyway

 

[Syl]

This is so stupid. Half the games on Steam run on Windows 7.

 

[Tyrr]

I have a 2nd, older PC that still runs W7. I still use it to play older games and as a backup.
I guess I have to install all the games I want with the Steam version on it and never connect it to the internet again.

I don't like this. After the change you can no longer play games you bought unless you have upgraded your OS and PC. Even if the games would still run fine on W7/8.
I'm not sure this is legal in the EU. You bought a game and Steam promised you it would run on W7/8. If Steam is no longer able to fulfill that promise you should be able to get a refund.

 

[Forest Dweller]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but I saw this today.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-wont-work-on-windows-7-and-8-much-longer/1100-6512748/

Steam Won't Work On Windows 7 And 8 Much Longer​

Valve has announced that the Steam storefront won't support Windows 7 or 8 in 2024.

By Steven T. Wright on March 28, 2023 at 8:39AM PDT
3 Comments


If you're a PC gamer still rocking an older version of Windows, we have some bad news. Valve has announced that Steam will no longer support Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, starting on January 1, 2024.
According to the Steam Support announcement of the change, this is due to Steam relying on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer works on older version of Windows. Valve also states that future versions of Steam will rely on feature and security updates that are only available on Windows 10, so you might as well make the switch now.
The good news is that updating to Windows 10 from a prior installed version is free. And let's not forget that Windows 11 has already rolled out to most customers, though many devices will not meet its system requirements, which include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage space, and TPM 2.0 support.
In other Steam news, Valve recently stated that a more powerful Steam Deck is years away from happening. However, it seems that the company is firmly behind the platform for now, especially since it's proven to be quite popular with PC gamers.

So what will happen with all my games on the platform? Will they just not launch anymore?

 

[jebsmoker]

people still use windows 8?

 

[OSK]

People need to stop using dead operating systems.

 

[Fedora Master]

people still use windows 8?

I genuinely forgot 8 even exists

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

Just fucking great.

 

[Semiurge]

It probably needs a newer version of .NET that 7 or 8 don't support, or something similar.

 

[thesheeep]

It probably needs a newer version of .NET that 7 or 8 don't support, or something similar.

Afaik, there is no reliance on specific MS software - otherwise it wouldn't work so well on Linux.
Sure, theoretically, they could have a .NET reliance on Windows and something else on Linux and Mac, but that's just really unlikely.

Most likely reason:
It makes no sense to support an operating system that isn't supported anymore by the creators themselves. That's just asking for inheriting tons of issues.
End of life was already extended by MS from 2020 to end of January 2023, that's more than gracious.
People had enough time to switch.

 

[Konjad]

people still use windows 8?

Latest Steam survey:

 

[deuxhero]

I swapped to Linux at the end last year, but to outright kill off compatibility (instead of just "unsupported") is terrible for software archival.

People need to stop using dead operating systems.

The reason people stuck to 7 for so long is 10 and 11 are total clusterfucks that mandate updates and telemetry while these updates are so poorly designed they kill the user's files every 6 months or so.

 

[Konjad]

I swapped to Linux at the end last year, but to outright kill off compatibility (instead of just "unsupported") is terrible for software archival.

That's what they've been doing in the past and what one would expect though, it's not like they still support XP.

 

[deuxhero]

The thing is XP support ended when they ended 32 bit support, and XP went with it because there was only a 32 bit version of XP

 

[KörangarTheMighty]

The thing is XP support ended when they ended 32 bit support, and XP went with it because there was only a 32 bit version of XP

No, XP Professional has a 64 bit version.

 

[mastroego]

fuck
I'm in the 1,43% group
with the old machine at least, but I planned to keep using it

 

[Zibniyat]

people still use windows 8?

Latest Steam survey:

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

​

 

[jebsmoker]

people still use windows 8?

Latest Steam survey:

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

​

one possible reason for steam's support windows 7 being taken away is because the versions of .net framework it supports are getting older and supporting them for long periods of time is a potential security risk

i don't know what software libraries steam relies on for its linux version, but it's safe to assume they are updated fairly constantly; there's no reason to take away linux support if this is the case

 

[Konjad]

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

It's not a popularity contest, just which OS is supported and which is not. Why is it so difficult to understand?

 

[thesheeep]

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

It's not about the number of users, it's about not supporting an operating system that no longer has official support by its own developer - in this case MS.
Steam also doesn't support Linux or Mac distros that are decades old.

Nobody is going to support Win7 going forward, no matter the number of users.
You might as well want them to support Win98 or XP.

Wanna keep your old hardware going that won't run Win10 or 11 properly?
Use Linux (Linux Mint is the friendliest distro coming from Windows IMO), it will make better use of old hardware than Win7 did to begin with (Windows started being a massive resource hog with Win7, though Win10 made it really absurd) and it will also be better at running old Windows games.
What better way to fiddle around with new-to-you OSs and study them than old hardware past its prime, anyway?

 

[ADL]

Good. Anyone using Windows 7/8 in 2024 deserves to get fucked. Either embrace the surveillance state and upgrade to 10/11 or move to Linux.

Seethe all you want but the time to either upgrade to W10 or move to Linux was three years ago when 7 went EoL after Microsoft extended it. If you had a valid concern about privacy, you would've moved a long time ago. No one should have to maintain old dependencies because you're using EoL software well after a reasonable grace period.

 

[NecroLord]

Fuck Winblows and their whole fucking "Our newest system will offer you INCREASED protection and functionality. YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT. IT'S HUGE!" spiel.
Also fuck that Jabba the Hutt looking motherfucker, Gabe Newell.
God forbid if anyone wants to use an older OS to play old games and such, no, you gotta update to NSA surveillance Edition Winblows 17!!!

 

[Forest Dweller]

Regardless of whatever reasonings they may give, if I can't play any of the games I actually paid for come 2024, I'm never buying anything from Valve ever again. Reminds me of that "Games as a service is fraud" video someone posted a while ago.

 

[NecroLord]

What the fuck.
YOU bought the product with YOUR money. You should be able to enjoy said product however you want. It's like the provider putting conditions on how exactly you want to enjoy and make use of the product you just bought from him.
Valve might even get lawsuits thrown their way.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Since they say it won't work due to new Chrome, it will probably still be possible to run it using the lite version that doesn't use any web browser and other useless shit.

 

[NecroLord]

GIMME DAT MONEY, NERDS!

 

[Zibniyat]

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

It's not a popularity contest, just which OS is supported and which is not. Why is it so difficult to understand?

There are still more Windows 7 users (all versions) than Linux ones, Steam should drop support for Linux as well.

It's not about the number of users, it's about not supporting an operating system that no longer has official support by its own developer - in this case MS.
Steam also doesn't support Linux or Mac distros that are decades old.

Nobody is going to support Win7 going forward, no matter the number of users.
You might as well want them to support Win98 or XP.

Wanna keep your old hardware going that won't run Win10 or 11 properly?
Use Linux (Linux Mint is the friendliest distro coming from Windows IMO), it will make better use of old hardware than Win7 did to begin with (Windows started being a massive resource hog with Win7, though Win10 made it really absurd) and it will also be better at running old Windows games.
What better way to fiddle around with new-to-you OSs and study them than old hardware past its prime, anyway?

Alright, alright, I concede. You are correct. I use Win10 anyway, and I am this close to uninstalling Steam and just getting games from elsewhere (for free or not...).​