Valve has announced that its Steam digital distribution service will drop support for 32-bit versions of Windows starting January 2026.
Two years earlier, in January 2024, Steam also dropped support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1, recommending users to upgrade to a newer operating system.
Although Steam will soon stop running on Windows 10 32-bit (the only 32-bit Windows version still supported), it will continue to be supported on Windows 10 64-bit, and 32-bit games will remain playable.
While the number of affected users is likely minimal, given that the latest Steam hardware survey indicates that only 0.01% of gamers are using a 32-bit operating system, Valve has still urged gamers to update to a 64-bit version of Windows as soon as possible to maintain compatibility and continue receiving updates.
“As of January 1, 2026, Steam will stop supporting systems running 32-bit versions of Windows. Windows 10 32-bit is the only 32-bit version that is currently supported by Steam and is only in use on 0.01% of systems reported through the Steam Hardware Survey,” the company said this week. “Existing Steam Client installations will continue to function for the near term on Windows 10 32-bit but will no longer receive updates of any kind including security updates.”
“This change is required as core features in Steam rely on system drivers and other libraries that are not supported on 32-bit versions of Windows. Future versions of Steam will run on 64-bit versions of Windows only. We strongly encourage all 32-bit Windows users to update sooner rather than later,” it added.
Microsoft also reminded customers earlier this month that all versions of Windows 10 will also reach their end of support in 30 days, on October 14, and advised them to upgrade eligible systems to Windows 11 or migrate to the cloud with Windows 365.
Those who can’t upgrade due to incompatible hardware can delay switching to Windows 11 by enrolling in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, which costs $30 for home users and $61 per device per year for enterprise customers. This ESU program is also available for free to home users who want to enable Windows Backup to sync their data to the cloud or use Microsoft Rewards points to enroll.
According to Steam’s August 2025 hardware & software survey, 60.39% of gamers use Windows 11, while only 35.08% use Windows 10.
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