Steam is not supported on Home windows 7, Home windows 8, and Home windows 8.1 as of January 1, with the corporate recommending customers improve to a more recent working system.
The gaming firm warned final yr that the Steam shopper can be unsupported within the New Yr, displaying a countdown on the prime of the gaming shopper displaying what number of days earlier than the sport shopper will not obtain software program updates.
The Steam shopper now exhibits 0 days left, linking to a help article concerning the finish of help.
Supply: BleepingComputer.com
“As of January 1 2024, Steam will formally cease supporting the Home windows 7, Home windows 8 and Home windows 8.1 working programs,” reads the help article.
“After that date, present Steam Consumer installations on these working programs will not obtain updates of any type together with safety updates.”
“Steam Help can be unable to supply customers technical help for points associated to the previous working programs, and Steam can be unable to ensure continued performance of Steam on the unsupported working system variations.”
Microsoft stopped supporting Home windows 7 on January 14, 2020, and Home windows 8.1 reached the tip of help on January 10, 2023.
Microsoft provided the enterprise two years of prolonged safety updates. Nonetheless, this paid service plan expired in January 2023, inflicting all Home windows 7 installations to not be supported and shielded from new vulnerabilities and cybersecurity threats.
Steam recommends customers improve to a supported model of Home windows, resembling Home windows 10 or 11.
Nonetheless, Home windows 10 formally reaches finish of help on October 14, 2025, making Home windows 11 a extra engaging goal if you don’t want to hold upgrading the working system.
Whereas the Steam shopper nonetheless works on Home windows 7 and eight.1, Steam says they can’t “assure continued performance” after January 1.
“This transformation is required as core options in Steam depend on an embedded model of Google Chrome, which not capabilities on older variations of Home windows,” continues the help doc.
“As well as, future variations of Steam would require Home windows function and safety updates solely current in Home windows 10 and above.”
This transformation shouldn’t affect too many customers, because the December 2023’s Steam {Hardware} Survey signifies that solely 0.89% use one in all these unsupported Home windows variations.
Aiming to spice up safety
Steam additionally warns that utilizing older variations of Steam might trigger programs to be susceptible to new safety flaws and the rise of information-stealing malware that makes an attempt to steal your saved credentials.
Steam builders have been more and more focused by menace actors who steal credentials utilizing malware to conduct provide chain assaults through malicious recreation updates.
As a consequence of this, Valve has been tightening safety on its platform by now requiring SMS-based safety checks from recreation builders pushing an replace on the default launch department on Steam.
Nonetheless, SMS-based verification is inadequate to cease a decided menace actor, who can try to carry out SIM swapping assaults on a developer to achieve entry to their cellular quantity.
For stronger safety, Valve ought to require builders to configure multi-factor authentication utilizing safety keys or authentication earlier than they will publish updates.
