Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
We all do it it was coming , but it ’s still sorry to see Windows 7 , 8 , and 8.1 go . Valve announcedthat it ended reinforcement for the three operating system on January 1 , 2024 , essentially ending the life of the storied operating systems for the small deal of PC gamers still using them . We had a nifty run .
Before we cry repellant that Valve is shuttering Steam musical accompaniment for likely users , understand that Windows 7 , 8 , and 8.1 only make up a total of 0.89 % of all Steam users . That ’s not an peanut telephone number of users — there are 31 million online users on Steam at the time of composition , most 10 million of which are playing games — but I ’d wager a gravid number of those users either have other , newer PC , or are n’t active on Steam most daylight .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Still , there are some folks who will feel the reversal . For context of use , the number of users still using Windows 7 , 8 , and 8.1 is about the same number of users who are registering anRTX 4090on theSteam hardware sight . If you ’re one of the unfortunate few still on an older version of Windows , you ’ll need to promote for prescribed Steam support .
Now , Valve is n’t blocking any users on these older operating system from using Steam . Valve just is n’t releasing any update for them , either for game or steam clean itself , and it will no longer offer expert supporting for users on these operating systems . As the announcement reads : “ We expect the Steam guest and game on these old operating system to continue draw for some time without updates after January 1 , 2024 , but we are unable to assure continued functionality after that escort . ”
Valve , not so nicety , say that youprobablyshould’ve raise at this full stop . Microsoft terminate support for Windows 7 in 2020 , and Windows 8.1 in 2023 , per Valve ’s announcement , think of Steam support is the least of your worries if you ’re still running one of these older operating scheme . Valve points out that , due to a lack of security measure updates , “ malware can also be used to steal the certificate for your Steam history or other services ” on Windows 7 , 8 , and 8.1 .
Thankfully , instal a modern version of Windows is wanton . We have a guide onhow to install Windows 10 legally(and for free ) , and once you ’re there , the jump toinstalling Windows 11 is easy . Keep in mind theminimum hardware requirements , however . Windows 11 , in particular , requires more late hardware to guide .
