Let's face it, there aren't many Windows 10 32-bit users today.
It's hard to call this a genuine novelty, and it's even reasonable to consider that Valve has been rather nice all these years. Indeed, while Windows 11 is an exclusively 64-bit system and 32-bit versions of Windows 10 or Linux are hardly used by gamers anymore, Valve still maintained a 32-bit version of the client for its famous Steam platform. A 32-bit version that would only concern a handful of users worldwide: in its latest software/hardware survey of the Steam gaming community, Windows 10 32-bit represents less than 0.01% of users.
But even the "best things" come to an end, and as Valve already mentioned a few months ago, it has been decided to discontinue all support for Steam's 32-bit client as of January 1, 2026. Yes, that's just a few days away. Available on the American company's multiple dedicated user support pages, the information was confirmed/reiterated/written in black and white when the latest client update was published on December 19. There, Valve explains in no uncertain terms that " the Steam client is now 64-bit on Windows 11 and Windows 10 (64-bit) ". So there's no question of 32-bit at all.
Valve communication dated December 19, 2025 © Valve
That said, if the information isn't clear enough, Valve drives the point home by stating that " systems running 32-bit versions of Windows will continue to receive 32-bit Steam client updates until January 1ᵉʳ, 2026 ". The implication is that, after that, there will be no further updates, not even to address potential security issues or vulnerabilities. Even if the number of potential users affected is very small, this is important information, as 32-bit users may not notice it right away: the Steam client will continue to launch and function "normally". However, there will be no further updates.
In fact, it's conceivable that some ill-intentioned individuals could take advantage of this to exploit potential security loopholes. Finally, Valve does not guarantee in the slightest that the 32-bit client will still be able to run after January 1. This will undoubtedly be the case, but only until a Steam client update makes it necessary to have a client that is also up to date.
