Steam is dropping support for Windows 10 32-bit

In short, it’s upgrade or get left behind.

by Oluwaseun Bamisile

Updated September 19, 2025

If you’re somehow still running Steam on a 32-bit version of Windows 10, the countdown has officially begun. Valve, the developers of Steam, confirmed that support will end on January 1, 2026, making it the last 32-bit operating system the platform will support.

After that date, Steam updates will stop, technical support won’t be guaranteed, and newer features may simply not work. In short, it’s upgrade or get left behind. The decision isn’t even that surprising. Microsoft is already winding down support for Windows 10 across the board, with mainstream support set to expire on October 14, 2025.

While an extended security update program will be available for users willing to pay, access to new features and long-term compatibility with modern games will increasingly require Windows 11 or another 64-bit operating system. For Valve, the numbers speak for themselves.

According to Steam’s August 2025 Hardware Survey, only 0.01% of players are still on Windows 10 32-bit, compared to more than 60% on Windows 11 64-bit and another 35% on Windows 10 64-bit. Supporting such a tiny fraction of users while holding back improvements for the overwhelming majority just doesn’t make sense.

Valve also explained that Steam itself relies on system drivers and libraries that 32-bit Windows can no longer handle, making continued compatibility more of a liability than a feature. Of course, 32-bit games and apps will still run on Steam, but the operating systems hosting them won’t be supported.

This is hardly new territory for Valve. Steam already ended support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 back in 2024, pushing users toward more modern systems. Competing platforms like Epic Games Store and Battle.net have also phased out support for older operating systems, citing the need to align with modern tools and security standards.

The industry as a whole has little incentive to maintain compatibility with legacy systems that only a sliver of players still use. For most players, though, this change won’t even be noticeable. Nearly all gaming PCs have been built on 64-bit architecture for years. But for the rare few still holding onto a 32-bit setup, the writing is on the wall: upgrade soon, or risk losing access to the world’s biggest PC gaming storefront.