Steam will stop running on Windows 32-bit in January 2026
What’s new: Valve has announced that Steam will discontinue support for 32-bit versions of Windows starting January 1, 2026. This follows the earlier decision to drop support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 in January 2024. Steam will continue to operate on 64-bit versions of Windows, while 32-bit games will remain playable.
Who’s affected
Users running Windows 10 32-bit, which currently represents only 0.01% of systems according to Steam’s hardware survey, will be impacted. Existing installations will continue to function but will not receive updates, including security updates.
What to do
- Upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows to maintain compatibility with future Steam updates.
- Consider enrolling in Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESU) program if hardware limitations prevent upgrading to Windows 11.
