Steam has stated that it will no longer provide support for Windows 8.1, Windows 8, and Windows 7. This modification will take effect on January 1, 2024, the following year. Since Google Chrome no longer provides support for the Windows versions previously mentioned, Valve will end support for its Steam client. To properly utilize Steam in the future, users will require a PC or laptop running Windows 10 or later. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to install Windows 10 on your computer.
Steam’s software survey indicates that very few users of the platform are currently using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. In terms of the figures for February, 1.52 percent of users are using Windows 7, while 0.34 percent are using Windows 8.1.
Therefore, you are very much in the minority if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 on your personal computer or laptop at the moment.
Even though Windows 10 can always be updated for free, some users may not have access to the update, which will unavoidably lock them out of their games and leave them disappointed.
The majority of older computers will not be compatible with the update due to CPU and TPM restrictions, but upgrading to Windows 11 is also possible.
You will be pleased to learn that Windows 10 will be supported until 2025 if you decide to upgrade. Even though this is not a lot of time, it gives your gaming hardware two or three more years of compatibility with Steam.
After that, you probably need to buy a new gaming PC or upgrade the hardware on your PC to make it compatible.