Gamers still on older versions of Windows have received some bad news as Steam has officially dropped support for Windows 7 and Windows 8. While it's possible that the Steam client may still be able to run on both operating systems, Valve will no longer provide any software updates. According to Valve's own statistics from December, approximately 0.89% of Steam users are still using Windows 7 or 8.

The loss of support was first announced in March 2023, when the company mentioned that the Steam client would “no longer run on those versions of Windows," effective Jan. 1, 2024. Valve has since updated its post to delete that language and say that the Steam client and games on these older operating systems are expected to continue running for some time without updates after January 1st, 2024, but the company is unable to guarantee continued functionality after that date.

Valve's decision to drop support also means the Steam client for Windows 7 and 8 “will no longer receive updates of any kind including security updates." This could expose affected users to security threats over time. Valve strongly encourages all Windows 7/8/8.1 users to update to Windows 10 sooner rather than later, as computers running these operating systems are susceptible to new malware and other exploits that will not be patched.

The reason behind the loss of support is that Steam uses an embedded version of Chrome that “no longer functions on older versions of Windows." Future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above.

In conclusion, gamers still using Windows 7 and 8 are encouraged to update to Windows 10 to avoid any security threats. While the Steam client may still be able to run on these older operating systems, Valve will no longer provide any software updates, including security updates.