PC gamers will finally lose support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 thanks to Valve dropping them

As we enter the new year, Valve has urged PC gamers to bid farewell to their outdated Windows operating systems. A recent blog post from Valve disclosed that as of January 1, 2024, Steam would withdraw support for Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. Following this date, the Steam Client running on these specific operating systems won't receive any further updates, inclusive of security updates. Technical support cannot be assured from Steam post this date.

According to the most recent hardware survey from Steam, a meager 0.89% of Steam users still operate on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 - equivalent to the number of users with Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards. With 31 million online Steam gamers, this percentage isn't trivial, but it's small enough to justify the conclusion of support.

Valve suggested users to upgrade their operating system, highlighting that Steam's key functions rely on a built-in version of Google Chrome and future Steam iterations would necessitate feature and security updates exclusive to Windows 10 and upwards. They also highlighted the security threats associated with retaining these operating systems without essential security updates.

Microsoft had already ended their support for Windows 7 in 2020 and for Windows 8.1 in 2023, suggesting users are sensible to upgrade. In another development, Microsoft plans to terminate Windows 10 support in 2025, potentially pushing more users towards unsupported OS and possibly resulting in an environmental crisis, as predicted by Canalys, due to the inability to recycle potential e-waste caused by laptops presently running on Windows 10 that can't meet Windows 11's hardware specifications. This could lead to as many as 240 million PCs turning into e-waste.

Users may opt to extend support by paying a fee, similar to the option available for Windows 7 previously. This option, however, only prolonged the lifespan by three years and saw yearly cost increments. Microsoft's approach to dealing with this possible dilemma is still uncertain, given the company's recent proclivity towards sustainability, ease of repair and other environmental challenges.