Valve has officially announced it will cease support for the Steam client on 32-bit versions of Windows starting January 1, 2026. This move marks a significant step as the company continues to adapt to evolving technology and user needs.
In a recent support note, Valve stated that while existing installations of the Steam Client will continue to operate on Windows 10 32-bit, these versions will no longer receive any updates, including critical security patches. The note also highlighted that Steam Support would not be able to assist users encountering technical issues on these outdated operating systems.
The decision to terminate support for 32-bit Windows is linked to the discontinuation of support for various underlying technologies essential for Steam’s functionality. Valve specifically indicated that “system drivers and other libraries that are not supported on 32-bit versions of Windows” were significant factors contributing to this decision.
Although 32-bit versions of Windows were prevalent from the mid-1990s through the early 2010s, Valve’s timing on this change is unlikely to impact a large number of users. The company had already discontinued support for all Windows 7 and Windows 8 versions in January 2024. Furthermore, the release of Windows 11 in 2021 marked the first instance in decades where no 32-bit version was made available. Therefore, only the aging 32-bit version of Windows 10 remains, which is approaching the end of its own security updates sometime in late 2025 or 2026.
Data from the Steam Hardware Survey in August reveals that the 32-bit version of Windows 10 constitutes such a small portion of users that it has been categorized under ‘other’ on the tracking page. Collectively, all ‘other’ Windows versions only account for approximately 0.05 percent of Steam’s user base. In contrast, the 64-bit version of Windows 10 operates on just over a third of Steam-using Windows PCs, while the 64-bit version of Windows 11 comprises nearly two-thirds.
Importantly, this shift will not affect game availability or compatibility. Users can continue to play older 32-bit games on newer 64-bit versions of Windows, as these systems maintain compatibility with many 32-bit applications, unlike recent versions of macOS.