Gaming News

Bad News for Windows 7 and 8 Gamers

Steam will no longer support Windows 7 and 8.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but informing gamers and contributors of my gaming publication on Medium will be good.

Valve, the company behind the popular gaming platform Steam, announced that if you are still using Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 on your PC, then you won’t be able to run Steam on your computer starting from January 1, 2024.

This announcement came as a result of a change in the newest features in Steam, which require an embedded version of Google Chrome that no longer works on older versions of Windows.

Additionally, future versions of Steam will require Windows features and security updates that are only available on Windows 10 and above.

According to Steam’s February Hardware and Software Survey, only 0.09% of users run Windows 7, and less than half a percent use Windows 8.1. This means that if you are still using one of these operating systems, you are in the minority of Steam users.

However, for those dedicated users of these antiquated operating systems, this announcement is bad news as it means they will no longer be able to access Steam or any games or products purchased through Steam.

Microsoft ended support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 in January, so the writing has been on the wall for a while.

Microsoft’s recommendation for users still on these operating systems is to replace their device with one that supports Windows 11, the latest version of Windows.

In addition to Valve, other companies are dropping support for Windows 7 and Windows 8. For example, Epic Games recently dropped support for these operating systems for Fortnite and recommended that users switch to GeForce Now instead.

This announcement may come as a shock for those still on Windows 7 or Windows 8, but it is not entirely unexpected.

As technology advances, it becomes more difficult to maintain support for older operating systems, and eventually, it becomes impossible.

While it may be inconvenient for some users to update to a newer version of Windows, it is necessary to ensure they can continue using the latest software and services.

It is worth noting that upgrading to a newer version of Windows may not be an option for some users, especially those with older hardware that cannot run the latest operating system.

In this case, users may consider upgrading their hardware to continue to access the latest software and services.

Final Words

If you are still using Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, then it’s bad news as you won’t be able to access Steam on your computer after January 1, 2024.

This announcement is not entirely unexpected, as Microsoft has already ended support for these operating systems, and other companies are dropping support as well.

While it may be inconvenient for some users to upgrade to a newer version of Windows, it is necessary to ensure that they can continue to use the latest software and services.

For those who cannot upgrade their operating system, upgrading their hardware may be necessary to access the latest software and services.

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