Steam pushes for an inevitable 64-bit future as Valve sets 2026 deadline for 32-bit Windows client

Valve is finally making the big jump to a fully 64-bit Steam client on compatible Windows PCs, gradually phasing out support for the 32-bit version. In a recent December update, many noticed that Steam now runs as a native 64-bit application on Windows 10 64-bit and Windows 11.

Users on 32-bit versions of Windows are on a separate branch that’s supposed to fall off with Valve discontinuing updates beginning 1 January 2026. This isn’t a discreet move by Valve: the company announced back in September that it would drop support for 32-bit Windows entirely by next year due to incompatibility with Steam’s core features, and that only a tiny fraction of users were using older systems to run Steam.

As for the folks who still use 32-bit Windows, Steam will continue to work as it does today, but after the deadline, Steam won’t receive any further client updates or security patches, and there won't be any guarantee that new games will work properly on it. 

Valve has clarified in its Steam Support FAQ, “As of 1 January 2026, Steam will stop supporting systems running on 32-bit versions of Windows,” noting future iterations of Steam will only support 64-bit setups. Customer support will also cease to function on outdated 32-bit PCs at the same time, effectively making the platform unusable for those unwilling to upgrade.

This move won’t affect many users, given how few of Steam’s user base still use 32-bit Windows. Valve noticed that around 0.01% of active systems still use 32-bit Windows. According to the latest Steam Hardware Survey, 65.59% of Windows-based Steam users are on Windows 11 64-bit, 29.06% on Windows 10 64-bit, and 0.08% on Windows 7 64-bit.

Furthermore, this change won’t affect 32-bit games on Steam as they’ll work as intended on 64-bit Windows, thanks to added compatibility layers already in play from Microsoft's Windows on Windows (WOW64) tweaks. Valve emphasized this point to avoid any confusion among Steam users.

Many users with 32-bit Windows installed likely have the specs to handle the 64-bit upgrade. The only downside is the tedious process of installing a fresh OS. However, users still running almost-obsolete 32-bit processors will have to say goodbye to Steam.

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