Millions of Steam users will find themselves unable to use the service if they don’t upgrade from Windows 10.
Windows 10 is the preferred operating system for many, seeing Windows 11 as a pointless step in upgrading, however, as Microsoft begins to wrap up support for the OS, Steam users could see problems ahead.
According to a Reddit thread from a few months back, and reported over on Twitter, half of Steam’s users still run Windows 10 on their gaming PC.
With Microsoft ushering in the end of the system, it could mean that millions of players find that Steam no longer works for them, forcing them into paying for an operating system upgrade.
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Now, of course, there will be some workarounds found by the community, but many users don’t see the issue with simply upgrading.
“What’s people’s biggest gripe with win 11? It takes make 5–10 minutes to make 11 about the same as Windows 10. Sometimes I confuse Windows 10 for 11 because my setup looks really similar to 10,” said one user, who got over 200 replies.
One of the biggest concerns for players is that older hardware simply can’t run Windows 11, which doesn’t just mean paying for the OS, but a whole new PC.
“Apparently I don’t meet requirements to upgrade and that's why I haven't [upgraded],” said another user.
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Someone further into the thread echoes what most are saying, with their reply, “I'd rather migrate to Linux, and stop playing half my games, than use Windows 11.”
This seems to be the most popular option among users, with another commenting, “Switching to Linux and never looking back once 10 dies.”
There are ways to extend the licence for Windows 10 currently, but this won’t be a long term solution, and Steam users will need to either opt into Linux, or pony up the cash.