The world’s most popular PC gaming platform Steam will probably soon provide support for Windows 7, Windows 8 und Windows 8.1 a. Parent company Valve called on Steam users to upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11.
Support until the end of 2023
The end of support is scheduled for January 1, 2024 and, according to a survey by Valve, only affects about 2 percent of the users. From this point on, users of outdated Windows versions will no longer have access to Steam and their purchased computer games. The Steam Client will no longer work on these devices.
Valve justified the decision with the end of support for the Chrome-Browsers for the corresponding Windows versions. There have been no security updates for the operating systems since January 2023. In addition, newer Steam versions would require security updates, which are only available from Windows 10 onwards.
Windows 11 does not work on all computers
While Windows 10 should run on all devices that shipped with Windows 7 or Windows 8, Windows 11 does not. For security reasons, the latest Windows version prescribes more up-to-date hardware that has a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 feature.
Alternatively, computer games can also be played via “cloud gaming” services such as GeForce Now be played. The hardware doesn’t matter, but a stable and fast internet connection is a prerequisite.
