https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A#:~:text=Steam%20Support%20%3A%3A%20Windows%207%20and%20Windows%208%20Support&text=As%20of%20January%201%202024,on%20those%20versions%20of%20Windows.
"As of January 1 2024, Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems. After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows."
More importantly - "In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows."
There are exactly 0 companies that are going to make their lives harder for 0.0001% of their customer base. You’re the one with the niche hobby, you figure out how to make it work. Find the original discs or something. That’s not Steam’s problem.
Wrong.
There are companies that have built their customer base out of taking the extra step to cater the “0.0001%” of Steam’s: GOG, Humble Bundle, Kickstarter, and Itch.
1/3 of the Cyberpunk 2077’s pre-orders were made on GOG. I think “0.0001%” is a bit too pessimistic, don’t you think?
Absolutely agree. One of many reasons I’ve never bought anything on Steam, is Steam infects games with their Steam software. You don’t get the game “plain”. You get the game totally dependent on what Steam does with it. Like not running on an old machine anymore.
GOG gives me a backup of the game installer that has no GOG at all in it. I can save that backup to a DVD as an archive. Yes I do own the game, independent of GOG. I can get it to work, anywhere that it can be made to work. That might be easier or harder depending on where I try, but I can do it. I can do it 20 to 40 years from now if I remember to copy my DVDs, keep them alive, don’t get them burned in a house fire, don’t lose them, etc.