Steam Ends Windows 7 And 8 Support, Leaving Players Worried About Older Games

Steam is pulling support for Windows 7 and 8, forcing anyone still using older operating systems to upgrade in order to access their Game library. This is despite a whole host of older Games struggling to run on anything after Windows 7, with many still attached to the now-defunct Games for Windows Live which is still causing problems on W10 and 11.

The changes will come into effect on January 1, 2024, giving Game publishers a good amount of time to save their older titles. However, many are worried that these Games will simply be forgotten, struggling to run on modern software.

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Steam just announced the change on its site, explaining that support will be completely pulled at the end of 2023.

"After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows," the statement reads. "In order to continue running Steam and any Games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows."

Steam cites Google Chrome functionality and security concerns as the driving force behind these decisions.

Among the Steam community, reactions are mixed. While some understand why this has to happen - most services have long stopped supporting Windows 7 and 8 - others are frustrated with how widespread the effects of this will be. Rather than just denying users access to the storefront, they won't even be able to log in and access the games they've already bought. And while the number of users who will be completely gated out of Steam due to this is likely to be low, it does raise questions about how older games, such as the original GTA trilogy and Fallout 3, will fare going forward.

Of course, anyone affected by this does at least have some options. For starters, the most obvious is to just give in and upgrade to Windows 10. It's not that bad, I promise! There are mods out there to help older Games cope with it too. But if you're really not feeling that, there's the Steam Deck, which you should be able to play most of your library on. Or hey, there's GOG.

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