After ten years of (more or less) good and loyal service, Microsoft will disconnect technical support for Windows 10 on October 14. The publisher wants to accelerate the transition to Windows 11, to the great benefit of PC manufacturers of course, but less so for Windows 10 users whose machines are still working very well!
The end of support is shaping up to be a real headache for many users, given the popularity of Windows 10. Microsoft has not helped anyone, by imposing fairly high minimum specifications (notably a TPM 2.0 chip), effectively excluding millions of PCs. Especially gamer PCs!
According to the Steam Hardware and Software Survey for January, 43% of the store's users were on a Windows 10 PC, an increase (!) of almost 0.5% compared to December. Windows 11 represents the majority of PC gamers at 53%, but this version is down 1.5%.
There is a certain logic to Windows 11 being the preferred OS for Steam users, after all it has been four years. But there is still a large minority of gamers who will have to ask themselves serious questions in October. Of course, games will continue to work on their computers, but they will be at the mercy of the slightest bug or security flaw.
Microsoft does offer a temporary loophole via a paid subscription to continue receiving security updates, but this Extended Security Updates (ESU) program is limited to one year for individuals, three years for businesses.
Could the solution come from Valve? The Steam owner is indeed preparing a downloadable version of SteamOS, the operating system of the Steam Deck. Intended for portable consoles, will SteamOS also be installable on classic PCs? That remains to be seen, as there is still a lot of work to be done on the drivers.
Source: PCGuide
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