Valve is ending support for Steam on Windows 10 in 2026 — but only for 0.01 percent of users

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Valve announced that Steam will stop working on older 32-bit versions of Windows starting January 1, 2026. While Steam currently works with 32-bit Windows 10, support for all 32-bit Windows versions will end next year.

Valve notes that very few Steam users – just 0.01% – still use a 32-bit version of Windows 10, meaning the end of support won’t affect most players. While the Steam client won’t receive further updates or improvements on 32-bit systems, it should still function for quite some time.

Starting January 1, 2026, Steam will no longer work on computers running 32-bit versions of Windows. Currently, only Windows 10 32-bit still receives Steam support, but it’s used by less than 1% of Steam users. The 64-bit version of Windows 10 will continue to be supported, and 32-bit games will still be playable. While existing Steam installations on Windows 10 32-bit will still work for a while, they won’t receive any further updates, including important security fixes.

Just to clarify, Valve isn’t stopping support for Steam on Windows 10 for most people. Since most Windows 10 computers use the 64-bit version, Steam will continue to work as usual, even though Windows 10’s overall support is ending. Valve hasn’t said when Steam will stop working on 64-bit Windows 10.

Valve explains that it must stop supporting 32-bit Windows because essential Steam features depend on system components no longer compatible with those older operating systems. Going forward, Steam will only work on 64-bit systems, which could affect players who still use older computers to play classic games.

Just a heads-up: while Microsoft continues to offer Windows 10 in 32-bit, Windows 11 only works on 64-bit systems. Therefore, it’s logical for Valve to gradually focus on 64-bit support, as very few users still have 32-bit computers.

via Neowin

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2025-09-18 15:09