Windows 10+ is not supported by this gamer - and never will be.

ok, so you don't want new games, and even 20 years from now when this game is really old, you still won't want to play a 20 year old game because it requires Windows 10+

You do you, but your reasoning is invalid.

What you are quoting is what OS the devs provide SUPPORT for, that is all UNSUPPORTED means, why is it so hard for gamers to understand what words mean, dictionaries exist for a reason.

Latest Steam survey shows why
Windows = 96.41% +0.18%
Windows 10 64 bit = 68.49% -0.57%
Windows 11 64 bit = 24.84% +1.06%
Windows 7 64 bit = 2.40% -0.20%
Windows 8.1 64 bit = 0.44% -0.07%
Windows 7 = 0.12% -0.02%

Your OS is not supported, means no help from Devs, to fix issues IF they occur.
I know of virtually no game that won't run on W7 (64-bit), except UWP games.
No PC gamers wanted UWP, and MS had to give up on their store exclusivity BS, and so we got Steam versions of them now.

I will never play games via UWP, but offer a crappy rental service, pack it with 95% of old base games nobody wants, and the 5% they actually wanted, were bought years ago.
Rent/free base games business model, pay top $$$ for added content, then watch MS remove the base game, from GamesPass, your expensive added content is useless, but base game is on sale now, so pay again sucker.

Meanwhile I can buy same Game+All added content on GOG much cheaper in a sale, than what just the added content costs under the Rent/free base game model of MS, and Epic, is a sunk cost fallacy trap, intended to lock you to one crappy store.
Now suddenly PC gamers, are falling over themselves to be scammed with the same UWP games they rejected en mass when released.

What is your specific objections to W10+
Spying Telemetry?
Start Menu/Taskbar

Sure in 2015, that was a valid reason, I still grabbed the Free offer, while it lasted, but though officially ended after one year, unofficially, you can still enter a W7 product key for a free digital perpetual license).
W7 Product Key > W10/W11 Home
W7 Ultimate Product Key > W10/11 Pro (I recommend this).

Dual Boot, and Keep using W7 as your main while you kick W10/11 into shape.
I dual Booted, and stayed on W7 Ultimate for two years, until I considered W11 to be better than W7 Ultimate.

Default Telemetry is still bad, but you can now turn most of it off, in Windows, and what can't be turned off is being collected on W7 as well.

No OS is perfect, but this is the beauty of PC, you don't have to accept what MS provides.
Often 3rd party tools are far superior
I recommend
Telemetry = O&O ShutUp10++ - Free antispy tool for Windows 10 and 11
Note name is O&O ShutUp10++ stupid forum thinks it's coding HTML, NOT displaying characters.

Start Menu/Taskbar
W10
Open-Shell - Open-Shell-Menu - GitHub
7+ Taskbar Tweaker - RaMMicHaeL's Blog

W11 = As W10 +
ExplorerPatcher by Valinet – This project aims to bring back a productive working environment on Windows 11

Here's how it Looks
W11 Pro 22H2 v22622.440 [2022-10-17] Imgur Link

Note: The On mouse hover show shortcuts is Stardock Fences v4 (An older free version exists, but doesn't have Roll Up Fences feature I'm showing in one pic

No OS is ever perfect, especially at launch, but I've always looked at it as a huge collection, a buffet to pick and choose from.
I use the parts I want, and find better 3rd party choices to fix and/or replace everything I don't like.

Going from W10 Pro > W11 Pro was easy compared to W7 > W10, within a month of launch Explorer Patcher fixed the Dumb Taskbar, so the W10 fixes work.

{Edits} Typos, and fixing Forum HTML display issues in Links.

An "unsupported", "obsolete" OS is better than literal malware no matter how MS shills twist it.

Then install a free Linux distro and use Steams Proton or Lutris. Then you can almost literally play any game you want and get rid of Windows if it bothers you. The same goes too Vicious20

As I said, being on W7 doesn't stop the Telemetry, it's no better than a correctly configured W10/W11 in that regard.
You do realise, MS did that to W7 before support was withdrawn.
Windows 7 Has Silently Received Telemetry Functionality with July 2019 Security Patch
So your argument is invalid

I get not liking Telemetry, but you can stop it entirely, at the cost of some functionality that's what O&O Shutup10++ does.
As for it being malware it isn't, any more than any other piece of software that collects data from your usage, with your permission.
Malware doesn't have EULAs, but Software does, and your choice is agree, or don't use it.

Makes me wonder, do you have a smart phone?
FaceFookj?
Twatter?
Galaxy?
Steam?

Pretty much with any type of free program offered by a stock listed Corporation, you are the product, and your data is the cost of use.
I have a smart phone, but I barely use it, beyond phone calls, i installed nothing on it except Firefox browser..
Occaisional forum use, like this is about all I will do, and no it's not synced, I sync nothing, I use Pale Moon on PC.
I don't do social media at all, never have.

I'm very careful with my data, and my internet presence is compartmentalized from all but finance.

Fact is Telemetry can be totally blocked, at the cost of some functionality, but MS is collecting little more than any other software, including every game these days.

Saying You refuse permission for them to gather it doesn't stop 1st use collection.
You give permission with EULA,. Sure in game you can disable it from that point.
Never yet seen one where you have to enable to permit collection, it's ALWAYS disable to stop.
GOG offline Installers stop it, because

I get trying to restrict it as much as you can, and still get the functionality.
Sometimes to get the functionality you want, you have to permit data collection.

It's the obsessive way people still cling to W7 I don't get, and for a benefit it doesn't even have anymore.
You may have blocked the Telemetry collection on W7, but you can just do that on W10/W11 as well.

I've never let others decide what data is collected on my PC, but that's always going to be a trade off for functionality you want.
No OS, or Windows is perfect. W7 certainly wasn't, and W10 was far worse at launch, and I wouldn't use it for two years.

By then the community knew all the ways, and blocked them, MS had to add options to disable pretty much everything, but minimum telemetry, and even though O&O Shutup10++ doesn't recommend it, you can block that as well.
In the end it's all just settings scattered in registry, all O&O Shutup10++ is doing is making that easier, by collecting them in a UI.

You can stick to W7, and play unsupported games, for a while, but Telemetry isn't a valid reason.
Older 32-bit games may be a valid reason to keep W7 in a dual boot config, or going W7+Linux, instead of W7+W10/W11.
I can't think of another valid reason though

{Edit} the above was wriitten before I saw you Use Linux, which appeared when I posted