If you've been on Steam, you know what this is about. The app is dropping Win7/8 support at the end of the year.

Never mind that your Win7/8 games still run fine on your machine--no Steam app, no games, period.

They claim it's due to Google Chrome dropping support... maybe it is, maybe not, but the fact is that there are millions of customers going to get screwed out of their property unless we bend the knee and accept Microsoft's datamining-as-an-OS-nightmare.

Yes, I know it's all in the licensing agreement. I know they have a legal right. It doesn't matter, because GOG shows how to do it right--downloadable, DRM-free installers (exceptions notwithstanding) and actual ownership of your media.

It's an old-fashioned idea that I think will be coming back into vogue very soon.

Anyway, my fervent prayer is that GOG does not/will not drop Win7/8 support for Galaxy. It's pointless to ask for a promise, yet I'd love to know where things stand.

Because I'm ready to re-buy whatever games GOG and Steam have in common, and there are a lot of very angry Steam users out there who would likely do the same.... IF there were assurances that dropping legacy OS support isn't around the corner.

Gog Galaxy games don't need the launcher, plus you can download your install files from the website library. Try running a game without a launcher once, you'll love it.

GOG Galaxy already officially dropped support for Windows 7 some time ago. Nonetheless, they patched it for Windows 7 after that date and it apparently still works today.

Since GOG Galaxy also uses the same rendering engine as Google Chrome, either they will keep that component outdated or they'll have to bump up the OS requirements eventually. I wouldn't expect them to patch the latest Chrome engine for Windows 7 compatibility, if that's even feasible.
You can always use offline installers. If you want achievements and such, apparently some people are still happily using GOG Galaxy 1.2. You could follow suit and keep the last 2.0 installer that works.

The point of GOG is to bring classics to modern operating systems. Don't expect them to support obsolete operating systems forever.

I just got through backing up the games I have here and deleting Steam off my PC. I will miss the games that have yet to appear here, like Ace Combat 7, Azur Lane: Crosswave, and American Truck Sim, but I am not going to miss Steam itself.

I know there are those that consider this our own fault, that we have had plenty of opportunity to switch over to W10. Problem is I've yet to hear a single good thing about 10. All I've ever heard is that it's pure bloatware, full of loggers and other spyware with a crap UI. In fact, I seem to recall 10 was going to be the final OS Microsoft released. Guess it never hit that market saturation point where they could make it a service instead. Explains why there is 11 now.

If Steam wants to lose customers and money, that's their problem. Ever since they based everything off of Chrome it's leaked memory like a sieve. There's more than enough games here to last me the rest of my days.

1) They are not Obsolete, Win 7 brought 64 bit operation, expand-ability to 128gb RAM. Larger drive storage support, SATA III, USB 3.0 and so forth. (from 32bit XP exclusive)
2) Win 10/11, brought no HW or SW innovation or improvement, it's all Downgrade and taking control of your computer.
3) GoG will lose plenty of money if users cannot buy easily through the launcher, though you can do it all on the website. Don't delete games before 2024. Shut down all steam upgrades in November and play offline.
I cannot find my steam games on GoG, so it's not a simple switch like that.
Win 10 final with just service patches = no more income from OS for MS, not likely to be implemented.

I thought of that, but a lot of what I play on Steam is online-dependent, like when a new state drops for American Truck Sim. I am lucky in that a lot that I had on Steam is also here, but I fear the hit that others are going to be forced to take.

Originally, the idea was to make 10 a service, as in you would have to subscribe and pay monthly in order to receive updates and patches. W10 was universally hated though so that saturation threshold was never hit, hence 11.

Doesn't the standard Truck Sim come with all USA 50 states ?
I have some 44 titles on Steam.
I found only Skyrim SE on GoG. (snatched it)
I have some 13 titles on EA.
I found only Dragon Age: Origins on GoG. ($20 for an old game)


I'm starting to look for Hacks, because EA games will play when replacing EXE.
Steam I only found Fallout 4 once and I need to look for that Un-DRM software again.
There will be a great Exodus OFF platforms and a lot less new game purchasing.
(not that there are any worth the money)

GOG certainly does not offer that, and if you read any of the EULA of any GOG games, they will tell you that outright.

1) Extended support for Windows 7 ended in January 2023. New CPUs from AMD and Intel have not been supported on Windows 7 for a number of years (Ryzen onwards and Skylake - I think - for Intel). For all intents and purposes, Windows 7 is deprecated and arguably obsolete. Despite being a great OS that I personally liked more than any WIndows system apart from possibly 2000 Professional (a nicer looking and more powerful release before it was dumbed down into Xp)

2) This one is more personal view and opinion, but I'd argue that support for newer and better standards is in there, although I agree with you that the account integration is annoying.

3) c1% of Steam users are on Windows 7, so it's in definite minority territory here (in context, more users on Steam use Mac OSX of all things than Windows 7). While there might be more users on GoG due to its historical focus on old games, Windows 7 is basically on its last legs at this point.

Be thankful that you can still purchase through the website rather than using some pointless client. It would be wholly unreasonable to expect GoG to patch Chromium (assuming it uses this for the client) to support an out-of-life operating system that doesn't get security updates - even assuming they had the ability to do this. I don't think that they will lose much - if any - business as most Windows 7 users will either upgrade to a newer OS (which may involve buying new hardware) or will just use the website.

It's not an assumption.

In the future, installing GOG Galaxy will be the only way to protect your Windows 7 machine against attack from Russian botnets.

I had Win10 for six months, and it borked my work computer in an endless cycle of forced update -> update failed -> rollback update -> re-download update -> rinse, repeat.

When it was clear there was no way to actually take ownership of the OS - you can't even control updates! I wiped and reinstalled 7, never looked back.

We have it on our living room media center PC and it's a constant pain in the ass with the updates screwing up your network configuration. I won't have it on my machine - I built it, I manage the OS, and I don't need bloated spyware telling me how to run things.

I love GOG because of the offline installers even though Galaxy still runs fine for me right now.

I'll kick steam to the curb long before I kick Win7. Okay, possession instead of ownership, Mr. Semantics. I understand what a EULA is, thanks, but I some how everyone else here got the point. Here's hoping you will too.

The developers of ATS release one state at a time. In order to get the special rewards that come with the release of a new state, you have to fulfill what's called external contracts, which you get through the Internet.

You should check and see if any of your games on Steam are DRM free. I had a few games that didn't actually require the Steam client to play.

My bet: They will drop the support as well without even opening the mouth to say it

You are right, that inflection point could be a very relevant business opportunity
But as many other opportunities out there, this store cant handle it

Why dont you consider bending the knee to Linux?
Thats my plan. Dont worry, I'm not a fanatic :)
I'll take whatever that works there from my libraries (emulated/native/virtualized)
I have that jump pending since W10 showed up...
I guess I cant snooze that new set of dramas anymore

Anyway, good luck with the best solution working for you