Microsoft has been moving quite fast when it comes to its popular Windows OS. Windows 11 only came out three years ago and there are already plenty of rumors that Windows 12 is coming soon, likely during the second half of 2024.
This means that Windows 11 will be outdated soon, marking the end of support for older versions. As a result, several companies are also ending support for older Windows versions including Steam, which has just announced a cut-off with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
This cutoff is happening sooner than expected as Steam will no longer be compatible with the aforementioned operating systems as early as January 1, 2024. This means there are only two weeks left before Windows 7 and 8 users will have to update to newer OS versions to keep using Steam.
Although Steam announced the end of support for older Windows versions back in March this year, it wasn’t taken too seriously since users still had over 9 months to update Windows. But with only two weeks remaining, now is a good time to move on to newer OS versions.
Even though only 1% of Steam’s total users use older Windows versions, this still makes up roughly 330,000 affected users as Steam’s total concurrent users are 33 million as per the latest figures from Statista.
Even if you play games through other means or clients, it is important to note that game companies are announcing end-of-support dates for older Windows versions. PUBG: Battlegrounds, for instance, recently announced that it will not no longer be compatible with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
Informative