What you need to know
- NVIDIA will end driver support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 this October.
- The company will focus on Windows 10 going forward, which is what the vast majority of gamers with NVIDIA hardware run.
- Presumably, NVIDIA will also support Windows 11 if it's confirmed and announced this month.
NVIDIA will end support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 in October 2021. The company outlines the change in a post that explains why the company will focus on Windows 10 going forward. After October, NVIDIA drivers will exclusively be available on Windows 10, and presumably Windows 11 if it's announced this month.
"The vast majority of our GeForce customers have migrated to Windows 10 OS," says NVIDIA. "In order to ensure GeForce owners experience the best possible security, support, and functionality, NVIDIA will now focus on Windows 10 operating system."
The latest Steam survey states that almost 93% of Steam users run Windows 10. Windows 7 users only make up 2 percent of Steam usage, so it makes sense that NVIDIA would focus exclusively on Windows 10. While there are people who game on other stores, figures are likely similar to what's seen on Steam.
The final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 will go public on August 31, 2021. The first Game Ready Driver to not support those older operating systems will ship on October 4, 2021.
With NVIDIA ending driver support for older versions of Windows, you'll have to make sure your PC is running Windows 10 to take advantage of the best graphics cards.
While game drivers won't be available for older versions of Windows, critical security updates will still be available for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 through September 2024.
