Valve is advising for an operating system upgrade if you want to keep using Steam.
It is always sad to see some well-known, reliable, or trusted software being ditched for a new one, as newer ones tend to give less freedom to the user. Windows 7, and in some way Windows 8.1, is truly one of the last operating systems to provide both comfort and freedom to its users. Although they are still fine to use, albeit without some protective updates, companies that create software for computers slowly started to cease support for those operating systems.
Microsoft themselves were aware of how popular Windows 7 was; as a result, they had to change the date for its end of support. However, just like any other software on the market, the time was due, and support was shut down around early 2020.
Steam, on the other hand, knowing that most of their users still used previous Windows versions, thanks to their automated surveys, wanted to keep Steam for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 for a bit longer. Unfortunately, previous Windows versions started to become obsolete, and Steam also moved on to the decision to stop support in January 2024.
Steam’s reasoning for dropping the support for Windows 7 and 8 machines was basically about how the Steam client runs on a modified Google Chrome, and since Chrome is not getting supported on Windows 7 and 8, they have to ditch the operating system for better stability and protection. As we all know, malware and viruses can easily penetrate through outdated software, and previous versions of Windows could be a potential way for any cyber attack aimed at companies that still support those obsolete operating systems.
Steam already warned its user base who used Windows 7 and 8 with an orange banner on top of the Steam client, stating support will end in January 2024. Trying to open the client on a Windows 7 or 8 machine will result in not getting the client to work. For that, Steam released an announcement on their blog, saying that in order to keep using Steam, users have to update to a newer version of Windows.
Windows 10 users, currently the majority of the user base, are still in good hands, though Windows 11 is the most recent OS to have been released, and with Windows 12 on the horizon, we can expect Windows 10 to be rather obsolete soon.
