Steam has officially ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8. A recent update to the Steam client makes it no longer functional on these older operating systems, prompting users to upgrade.
This move was anticipated, as Valve had announced its plans to drop support earlier this year. Microsoft also ended support for Windows 7 and 8 years ago. According to the latest Steam hardware survey, a very small percentage of users were still using these legacy operating systems.
Supported operating systems for Steam now include Windows 10, Windows 11, Linux, and macOS. For Windows users, upgrading to Windows 11 is recommended. Alternatively, gamers can opt for a Steam Deck, which runs on Valve's custom Linux distribution, SteamOS.