But if they keep it updated for modern systems that means as time goes on the files they are offering to install… won’t work on old hardware because they’ve been updated to the modern era.
Sure if you grab a file from them and never get a newer, more maintained version, it will play on exactly the hardware and software you had when you bought it… But if you lost the install file somehow and went to grab a new copy five years later the updated ones may no longer run on your old hardware
They keep a bunch of 32-bit libraries for backwards compatibility with older games that they launch. You can find numerous discussions about this in the Steam forums as well as on sites like Hackernews.
If you want, I can give it to you from a Valve employee:
We will not drop support for the many games that have shipped on Steam with only 32-bit builds, so Steam will continue to deploy a 32-bit execution environment. To that end, it will continue to need some basic 32-bit support from the host distribution (a 32-bit glibc, ELF loader, and OpenGL driver library).
Whether the Steam client graphical interface component itself gets ported to 64-bit is a different question altogether, and is largely irrelevant as the need for the 32-bit execution environment would still be there because of the many 32-bit games to support.
It’s Valve’s responsibility that Microsoft stripped DOS support from their OS in Windows 10?
Starting with Windows 10, the ability to create a MS-DOS startup disk has been removed, and so either a virtual machine running MS-DOS or an older version (in a virtual machine or dual boot) must be used to format a floppy disk, or an image must be obtained from an external source.
The GOG Preservation Program ensures classic games remain playable on modern systems, even after their developers stopped supporting them. By maintaining these iconic titles, GOG helps you protect and relive the memories that shaped you, DRM-free and with dedicated tech support.
Literally. People miss the fact that Steam is still a 32-bit app just to support older games. The rest of the world has moved onto 64-bit operating systems and applications. It’s shocking they still support 32-bit in 2025. So the argument that they aren’t supporting older titles is a little misleading because that’s the whole reason they still run a 32-bit client.
Most operating systems are no longer even offered in a 32-bit variant, 64-bit only.
I haven’t had a device with 32-bit hardware in almost 15 years. The last device I can even think of that was still 32-bit within the last 15 years was a Google Nexus 6 in 2014. All the Pixel line have been 64-bit.
Steam is literally one of the last 32-bit holdouts. Everything else has moved on. Even Discord dropped 32-bit support last year.
EDIT: Also, for reference, since Windows 98 is heavily mentioned in the arguments, those operating systems included 16-bit code. We’re talking about dropping 32-bit code, 16-bit code is deader than a doornail. Windows 3.11 was the first introduction of 32-bit code. Windows XP seems to be where they dropped all 16-bit code in 2001. We’re talking over 30 years of hardware changes.
All versions of MS-DOS and the below versions of Windows had 16 bit code:
MS-DOS (all versions)
Windows 1.x/2.x/3.x (all versions)
Windows 4.x or 9x (Windows 95/98/Millennium Edition) (all versions)
I don’t necessarily agree with all of Kaldaien’s points, but I can’t say they aren’t well argued. Their opinions are valid if you’re willing to accept and consider their perspective.
I personally don’t see the point playing games on the original hardware, and I think keeping them updated for modern systems is a good thing, but I can see why someone might disagree and prefer running them in a VM on a traditional operating system, especially in terms of keeping the original way the game ran intact. I also disagree about the value of Microsoft’s game rental service, but I also see the value in saying “if I don’t actually own my games anyway, why not take it to it’s logical conclusion of just renting them.”
As I said, their points are well argued, even if I don’t necessarily agree on them.
Right, socialism doesn’t necessarily say that markets themselves are evil, but rather that the workers should have direct control over their own workplaces and reap the value of their labor instead of being siphoned off to a parasite class. A socialist business owned by the workers would still be selling their goods in the marketplace. It’s just a fairer distribution of control of the company through democracy and a fairer distribution of the value generated by the labor.
As I often say, it’s not like Jeff Bezos can deliver every Amazon package or manage every AWS server on his own. No, the value he has is leeched from all the workers who make his business function. Without the workers, he is effectively useless on his own.
But it feels like we’re regressing and we can’t even get to that socialist ideal because we’re busy fighting for the basic rules of capitalism that produce an actually healthy economy where everyone is involved be followed.
We have come so far that we have gone from “maybe the world should be a better place” to “if we are really going to do this capitalism shit, could we at least follow the fundamental foundational concepts instead of a corporate free-for-all where the rules of the game have been tossed out?”
Are there even any really good games coming out this year?
Further, didn’t the Switch 2 already break sales records? 5.4 million consoles? 1.8 million of them in the US?
Looking at the roster of games that have come out so far this year, it looks pretty barren for genuinely quality games. Maybe people just haven’t bought a lot of the kind of forgettable titles? The only games that seem popular that aren’t remakes or re-releases of previous games are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Blue Prince, Split Fiction, Death Stranding 2, Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Elden Ring Nightreign. Of those, only the first four listed score above 90 on Metacritic. Even stuff like Monster Hunter Wilds has been deeply panned.
I think it’s probably a mixture of high prices, lack of money, Switch 2 sales and waiting on better Switch 2 titles other than just Mario Kart World, as well as a lackluster roster of other quality games.