Once 2024 starts, Steam will no longer support either Windows 7 or Windows 8.
Valve confirmed the news in a short post on Steam’s website, saying the Steam Client would no longer function for those operating systems (or Windows 8.1) on January 1. Anyone still using those systems will have to upgrade to something more recent in order to play games, run the app on their computer, and the like.
Per the post, Steam’s newer features “rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of Windows.” Going forward, PC versions of the platform will also require Windows 10 or above due to security and feature updates only present in those versions.
Earlier in the month, Epic Games made a similar announcement about Fortnite no longer supporting Windows 7 and 8. Following its most recent season, the battle royale requires players to use Windows 10 or above, though Windows 7 or 8 users can still play the game via cloud streaming.
At the time, Epic attributed the decision to the growing technology and features brought on by Fortnite’s new season. The way iterative games like these and platforms like Steam advance over the years, dropping the older operating systems was never a question of if, but when it would have to happen.