If you’re a Steam user and haven’t moved from Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1So you know that your time to enjoy the play store in some of these versions of the Microsoft operating system is running out. You have half a year left, before Valve drops support.
This is nothing new, by the way. The person in charge of Steam already warned of the end of support a little over a month ago, although she did so through an official statement on the site and the Steam beta client. A version in development that has already “graduated” and is being distributed to all users of the service.
Which obviously means that this warning is going to start appearing for all Steam users on Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, as many are reporting on different Internet forums. How does this warning appear? banner shaped at the top of the application, highlighted in red and with a countdown in days.
But what exactly does Steam end of support mean? Will Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users still be able to use the app after the date is reached, or will they simply stop receiving app updates? If you wonder that, because that has been the modus operandi With much of the software being desupported for non-maintenance versions of Windows, we have some bad news for you.
Steam on Windows 7 | Image: gHacks
And it is that Starting January 1, 2024, all Steam users on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 will lose access to their game library.. Or what is the same, they will be able to continue executing the client, but what they will see when they do it is an empty shell.
Of course, this does not mean that anyone will lose their game library (something easily verifiable included since Windows 7, accessing the Steam website), just that in the versions of Windows of yore, it’s game over and the way The most effective way to do this is by blocking any connection to Steam’s servers.
And those who have the games installed -and, therefore, downloaded- will be able to continue playing them? Experience suggests that it is, but it’s a sad fix, when the free upgrade to Windows 10 is still an option. In addition, that it is a well-established version that does not have surprises ahead.
Why is Valve doing this? For the same reason that all the companies that have withdrawn support for some versions of an operating system that is no longer maintained and that is a potential source of all kinds of problems, especially in terms of security. For this reason and because “newer Steam features are based on an integrated version of Google Chrome, which no longer works in previous versions of Windows… In addition, future versions of Steam will require Windows features and security updates only present in Windows 10 and higher,” they explain.
