- Valve has officially moved the Steam client to 64-bit, ending support for all 32-bit Windows systems.
- Therefore, the minority of gamers on such operating systems will no longer see official Steam support.
- The 32-bit games available on Steam will continue to function as normal for 64-bit users.
Despite years of support for older and 32-bit operating systems, Valve began modernizing Steam to focus on players who are using more recent versions of Windows last year. The conglomerate faced some backlash for ending Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 support early in 2024.
Valve is now continuing down that path with a new update to the Steam client that ends all official support for 32-bit Windows OS, starting from January 1st, 2026. In other words, Steam is now running entirely on 64-bit.
Why it matters: Valve moving Steam over to 64-bit means better performance for the client, while negatively affecting a very small percentage of users still using 32-bit systems.
The Steam update will make the client run much better for users on 64-bit systems, allowing it to use more RAM when needed. However, the minority of users still running 32-bit Windows OS will no longer see any security updates or customer support moving forward.
Very few gamers voluntarily stick with a 32-bit Windows OS because it is limited to about 4 GB of RAM and performs worse overall. Valve previously clarified elsewhere that gamers using Steam on Windows 10 32-bit systems only represent 0.01% of its entire population.
For those few 32-bit users, the Steam client may continue working for a while until something eventually breaks. Updating to 64-bit systems for many of them will be no trouble unless some are truly using hardware from 2004 or older.
However, the 32-bit games available on the storefront will continue to work as normal for gamers with 64-bit systems.
Do you think Valve making its Steam client supported for 64-bit devices only would be a big deal for the majority of gamers? Are the concerns exaggerated? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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