Valve warned us several months ago: the end of support for "old" Windows is now.
In February 2023, the support section of the Steam client was updated by Valve. At the time, Gabe Newell's company indicated that support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 on its client - the number-one platform for PC video games - would be discontinued on January 1, 2024. Over the past nine months, users still on one of these three versions of Windows will have had time to prepare and update their systems: it can't be said that Valve has taken any notice of them.
The company's message could hardly be clearer: "As of January 1ᵉʳ, 2024, Steam will no longer officially support Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. After this date, the Steam client will no longer work with these versions of Windows. In order to continue using Steam and any games or products purchased on Steam, people using these versions must upgrade and install a newer version of Windows." Since the start of the new year, it has therefore no longer been possible to use the Steam client on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1, the fault - if Valve is to be believed - of evolutions in the Google Chrome browser.
As Steam evolves, so does support © Valve
" Steam's core functionality relies on an integrated version of Google Chrome that no longer works with older versions of Windows. In addition, future versions of Steam will require certain features and security updates that are only available from Windows 10." Google has evolved its browser and, with it, many software products must evolve too. As a result, Valve is no longer able to ensure that its client runs smoothly on older Windows. Note, however, that this is unlikely to affect a large portion of PC gamers: according to the latest Hardware and Software Survey of December 2023, Windows 7 64-bit accounts for just 0.68% of Steam users, and this share rises to no more than 1% when all other versions 7, 8 and 8.1 are added.
Finally, Valve points out that " Microsoft has ended security updates and technical support in January 2020 for Windows 7 and January 2023 for Windows 8. 1", adding that " when connected to the Internet, computers running these operating systems are exposed to new malware and other vulnerabilities that will not be subject to patch updates". It's obviously very risky to continue using such machines, even if you have no intention of launching the Steam client.
