Now this isn't Steam, but I regularly check the store and notice that even the most popular games (like GTA V, Turbo Dismount, Skyrim, etc) only list Windows 8.1 as the most recent compatible OS, even though many people play those games on Windows 10 without a hitch. Any opinions on why?
I think it's probably because Windows 10 wasn't around when the system requirements were first set, and it's a bit of a bug bear of mine.
The whole 'System Requirements' thing is and always has been a mess. I guess that's why people just stick with consoles where they know they can just buy a game and play. Another favorite is where they list graphics card model numbers. I'm not sure why the software/gaming community think a graphics card model number is an acceptable unit of measurement?
It's something I'd like to see Microsoft totally eliminate in the Windows Store. Windows Store (and Steam) should know what your machine is capable of running and automatically decide for you. Consumers shouldn't have to read through 'System Requirements' text descriptions and try to decipher it in order to figure out whether something will run or not. And if something will run fine on the hardware, it should be up to the software to optimise the software/games accordingly without the user needing to go through various settings and work out what the difference is between FSAA, PPAA, SMAA, FXAA, CMAA and which one they should use for best results on their machine.
Same applies to hardware too. Here's a Microsoft product that's still for sale today, but even the Microsoft website still lists the system requirements as:
"Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2), (excluding Windows XP 64-bit)"
Windows 10 is a moving target? It's changing with each new build that's released. If the kernel gets updated, its basically a new OS. Your game may be compatible today, but not when the anniversary edition shows up for example. It's still called Windows 10 though?
Because Windows 10 is such a new and bipolar OS. Not to mention that 7 is the gold standard for game compatibility.
I agree with Arc. A lot of the games won't list Windows 10 because it wasn't available when those games came out. I have 130 games on Steam and haven't had a single compatibility issue on Steam so far.
Funnily enough, Windows 10 x64 appears to be the most popular OS among Steam users. It overtook Win7 x64 this month.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/30515...ge-charts.html
win10 and steam combo is full of win. im amused how much of whining win10 has caused in a gaming community but with over 100+ games played and owned ive had 0 problems.
well ok ive had some problems but its been more of an memory or HD issue than the OS itself :)
True, the build is constantly being changed, but you really shouldn't be Steam gaming on developmental 10 builds from the Fast Ring xD That's my opinion though. I'd do Steam on 10 but I'm pretty sure everyone and their grandma knows how 10 plays a magic trick and vanishes before my eyes. I'm sure it does the games fine though, as long as you're using the RTM (10240) or November update (10586). Others beyond that, I'd be careful until they release an official stable version of it, such as in the upcoming Redstone 2. Windows 7 is still my go to for games however.
@ARC1020: I have to disagree with you on one point. The Windows Store and Steam absolutely should not auto-decide for users what games their hardware is capable of playing, which would probably also extend to deciding for users which games they can buy. Most gamers live in a place, usually a 1st world country, that is a democracy or similar, not a dictatorship, where people are allowed to make their own choices, rather than gov'ts/corporations deciding for them. The end user should be left to make the decision of which games they *think* their hardware can handle (whether correct or not), and therefore which games they buy/are allowed to buy. But I do think it would be OK for the online storefronts to either auto-scan your hardware/ask for details, and make a recommendation as to whether you will be able to play with decent performance, before the sale is completed.
System requirements are important for deciding which games you can realistically play with decent performance, but not the most important consideration. I've owned many low-end notebooks which were capable of playing games that simply shouldnt have been able to run well.
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