Steam to End Support for macOS Mojave and 32-Bit Games

[MacRumors]

Valve's Steam gaming store will drop support for macOS High Sierra and macOS Mojave early next year, effectively ending support for the last versions of macOS that could run 32-bit games.

After the change comes into effect on February 15, 2024, Valve said existing Steam Client installations on these operating systems will no longer receive updates of any kind from Steam, including security updates, and technical support for issues related to macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and 10.14 (Mojave) will not be offered.

Valve announced the change in a Steam support post:

Unfortunately, macOS 10.14 was the last version to support running 32-bit games on macOS. Apple chose to drop support for 32-bit applications in macOS 10.15 (released 2019), and since many developers have not updated their games to support 64-bit executables, some games will effectively stop functioning on macOS.

As a result, Valve said the Steam store will stop considering games that offer only 32-bit macOS binaries to be Mac compatible at the end of 2023.

On the plus side, the change won't affect the majority of Mac users, since 98%+ of Steam customers on Mac are already running macOS 10.15 or newer. As Valve points out, "this means 32-bit only games and applications no longer run on your current operating system."

Valve's decision to end support was not independent. As ArsTechnica notes, it is in fact related to Google's ending of macOS 10.13 and 10.14 support in Chrome, several parts of which the Steam UI relies on.

Apple ended security updates and technical support for macOS 10.13 in December 2020 and for macOS 10.14 in October 2021. Future versions of Steam will require macOS features and security updates only present in macOS 10.15 and above. Despite this, however, Valve says it says it still expects "the Steam client and games on these older operating systems to continue running for some time."

Article Link: Steam to End Support for macOS Mojave and 32-Bit Games

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I don't have a Steam account so I can't check, but aren't most of their macOS library still 32-bit? Why don't they update them for 64-bit?

This sucks for people that still want their library of games.

 

[Mactech20]

Bummed about this. I still play games on my 5,1 running mojave. I just wish they would update their games to 64 bit. Is it really that hard? (forgive my ignorance). Biggest bummer is For the King II not coming to macOS.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Crikey. Was 32 more bits really worth losing all these classic games? Too many bits, I say.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I don't have a Steam account, so I can't check, but aren't most of their macOS library still 32-bit? Why don't they update them for 64-bit?

Because either those developers are long gone, or in their eyes it's not worth it due to how little people play on macOS versus Linux and Windows, or they literally can't due to a technical issue. Valve's old Source games for example are all 32 bit due to how old the Source Engine is. They tried to update Half Life 2 to 64 bit, but it did not work right at all. It crashed constantly and had horrible framerate that the 64 bit update was scrapped entirely. It's why CSGO ran so poor on macOS nowadays since Catalina forced them to haphazardly update the game to 64 bit, on an engine never meant to run 64 bit binaries to begin with

This sucks for people that still want their library of games.

Fortunately there's a solution for Mac users who want their library of games: The Valve Steam Deck, which just got refreshed to have 1TB configurations and a new OLED model with longer battery life. Combined with a price drop for higher configs it's never been a better time to hop on the handheld Linux PC that could.

Steam Deck

Available now.

www.steamdeck.com

Or just check Apple Gaming Wiki and see if your game works through GPTK.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I don't have a Steam account so I can't check, but aren't most of their macOS library still 32-bit? Why don't they update them for 64-bit?

This sucks for people that still want their library of games.

Bummed about this. I still play games on my 5,1 running mojave. I just wish they would update their games to 64 bit. Is it really that hard? (forgive my ignorance). Biggest bummer is For the King II not coming to macOS.

Game companies won't even touch a game anymore unless it's going to make them millions in IAP. There's no financial incentive to update the vast majority of these games. There are libraries and all kinds of technical details that make it difficult to make them 64 bit. I'm not a programmer but I know it's not as simple as checking a box and recompiling. But again, no one is motivated to do even that much. If anyone even still has the source code.

Also as the article points out, unless you're actually running Mojave, this ship has already sailed. They are ending Steam client support because Google ended Chrome support and Steam is basically just a Chrome web view.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Because either those developers are long gone, or in their eyes it's not worth it due to how little people play on macOS versus Linux and Windows, or they literally can't due to a technical issue. Valve's old Source games for example are all 32 bit due to how old the Source Engine is. They tried to update Half Life 2 to 64 bit, but it did not work right at all. It crashed constantly and had horrible framerate that the 64 bit update was scrapped entirely. It's why CSGO ran so poor on macOS nowadays since Catalina forced them to haphazardly update the game to 64 bit, on an engine never meant to run 64 bit binaries to begin with



Fortunately there's a solution for Mac users who want their library of games: The Valve Steam Deck, which just got refreshed to have 1TB configurations and a new OLED model with longer battery life. Combined with a price drop for higher configs it's never been a better time to hop on the handheld Linux PC that could.

Steam Deck

Available now.

www.steamdeck.com

I really want to build another PC gaming rig but I gotta say Steam Deck is looking more and more compelling.

Kind of wish they weren't going the console route of setting a performance target and sticking to it. Would like to see more frequent performance upgrades just like a PC.

 

[macintologist]

My solution has been to run the windows versions of those old games in Crossover. I'm doing that with UT2k4. It actually runs perfectly.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I really want to build another PC gaming rig but I gotta say Steam Deck is looking more and more compelling.

Kind of wish they weren't going the console route of setting a performance target and sticking to it. Would like to see more frequent performance upgrades just like a PC.

These things take time since they're running off a custom APU made by AMD. You remember how long Mac refreshes took due to Apple having to wait on Intel for chips right?

Anyway, I know many people they sold their rigs and defaulted to Steam Decks due to how convenient they were.

 

[CarAnalogy]

These things take time since they're running off a custom APU made by AMD. You remember how long Mac refreshes took due to Apple having to wait on Intel for chips right?

Anyway, I know many people they sold their rigs and defaulted to Steam Decks due to how convenient they were.

Right but as I understand it they specifically did not take advantage of performance improvements with the chip refresh in the OLED model, to keep the same performance target and get better battery life instead. Which doesn't sound so bad when I say it like that, but I lean more toward raw power in a gaming computer rather than longevity. I'm basically always near a power source.

For me part of PC gaming is actually sitting at the desk and using the mouse and keyboard. But if I did actually get used to one that might change. And I suppose that of course is still an option, I'm just concerned about performance when connected to a large external monitor.

 

[Stella]

I don't have a Steam account so I can't check, but aren't most of their macOS library still 32-bit? Why don't they update them for 64-bit?

This sucks for people that still want their library of games.

It would be up to the developer to update the games, not Steam.

As for the developer, probably not worth the effort, for games that old.

 

[headlessmike]

Crikey. Was 32 more bits really worth losing all these classic games? Too many bits, I say.

32-bit games became outdated the second the Nintendo 64 was released.

As a kid in the 90's, bits were the only thing that mattered.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

It would be up to the developer to update the games, not Steam.

As for the developer, probably not worth the effort, for games that old.

What about the half-life series and source games? Valve has their own studio, no?

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Right but as I understand it they specifically did not take advantage of performance improvements with the chip refresh in the OLED model, to keep the same performance target and get better battery life instead. Which doesn't sound so bad when I say it like that, but I lean more toward raw power in a gaming computer rather than longevity. I'm basically always near a power source.

There are slight performance improvements, but it was mainly to improve battery life and thermals by having the chip needing to draw less power. Remember the Deck isn't ARM like the Nintendo Switch and Mac are, it's running x86

For me part of PC gaming is actually sitting at the desk and using the mouse and keyboard

Which you still can do on the Steam Deck since it's a PC lol. Valve even sells an official dock with the Deck, but you can use any USB-C dock you want. You're not limited on docks like you are with Nintendo Switch

But if I did actually get used to one that might change. And I suppose that of course is still an option, I'm just concerned about performance when connected to a large external monitor.

So long as you're not trying to run things in 4K max settings you'll be fine.

 

[GianL]

I'm patiently waiting for an AS native Steam client, please Gabe

 

[pappl]

I can still play Star Wars Tie Fighter on M1 Macbook Pro on Steam. This game is maybe even 16bit.
Why?

 

[Carlson-online]

Valve's Steam gaming store will drop support for macOS High Sierra and macOS Mojave early next year, effectively ending support for the last versions of macOS that could run 32-bit games.

After the change comes into effect on February 15, 2024, Valve said existing Steam Client installations on these operating systems will no longer receive updates of any kind from Steam, including security updates, and technical support for issues related to macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) and 10.14 (Mojave) will not be offered.

Valve announced the change in a Steam support post:
As a result, Valve said the Steam store will stop considering games that offer only 32-bit macOS binaries to be Mac compatible at the end of 2023.

On the plus side, the change won't affect the majority of Mac users, since 98%+ of Steam customers on Mac are already running macOS 10.15 or newer. As Valve points out, "this means 32-bit only games and applications no longer run on your current operating system."

Valve's decision to end support was not independent. As ArsTechnica notes, it is in fact related to Google's ending of macOS 10.13 and 10.14 support in Chrome, several parts of which the Steam UI relies on.

Apple ended security updates and technical support for macOS 10.13 in December 2020 and for macOS 10.14 in October 2021. Future versions of Steam will require macOS features and security updates only present in macOS 10.15 and above. Despite this, however, Valve says it says it still expects "the Steam client and games on these older operating systems to continue running for some time."

Article Link: Steam to End Support for macOS Mojave and 32-Bit Games

"On the plus side, the change won't affect the majority of Mac users, since 98%+ of Steam customers on Mac are already running macOS 10.15 or newer. As Valve points out, "this means 32-bit only games and applications no longer run on your current operating system.""

Actually, it's the opposite. This means that most mac users will lose access to any 32 bit game !

 

[zorinlynx]

It's just as well. Valve didn't even port THEIR OWN GAMES (like Team Fortress 2 for example) to 64 bit Macs so I was surprised they kept Steam supported as long as they did.

Valve has gone downhill ever since they realized they can make more money as a storefront than making their own amazing games.

 

[NickTuesday]

I really want to build another PC gaming rig but I gotta say Steam Deck is looking more and more compelling.

Kind of wish they weren't going the console route of setting a performance target and sticking to it. Would like to see more frequent performance upgrades just like a PC.

Valve did exactly that in 2015 with Steam Machines and it was a disaster. There were supposed to be 15 different vendors/machines with different levels of performance. 13 dropped out. 2 came out, the project died almost immediately. But out of those ashes came Proton and where Valve is today with the SteamDeck

 

[MRMSFC]

32-bit games became outdated the second the Nintendo 64 was released.

As a kid in the 90's, bits were the only thing that mattered.

The Nintendo Gamecube was 32-bit.

 

[somnolentsurfer]

From the Steam post:

“future versions of Steam will require macOS features and security updates only present in macOS 10.15 and above”

Does that mean Valve are finally going to release an Apple Silicon native version of Steam?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Crikey. Was 32 more bits really worth losing all these classic games? Too many bits, I say.

32-bit OS(s) max out at 4gb ram, so yea, it needed to be dropped.

 

[CarAnalogy]

There are slight performance improvements, but it was mainly to improve battery life and thermals by having the chip needing to draw less power. Remember the Deck isn't ARM like the Nintendo Switch and Mac are, it's running x86



Which you still can do on the Steam Deck since it's a PC lol. Valve even sells an official dock with the Deck, but you can use any USB-C dock you want.

So long as you're not trying to run things in 4K max settings you'll be fine.

Ha are they paying you a commission? Because they should be. You might be convincing me here.

 

[MRMSFC]

From the Steam post:

“future versions of Steam will require macOS features and security updates only present in macOS 10.15 and above”

Does that mean Valve are finally going to release an Apple Silicon native version of Steam?

I would be shocked. I believe Valve would sooner drop support for Mac than do that.

 

[somnolentsurfer]

Just hope they don’t block all supposedly 32 bit games from downloading or launching, because there are loads of games that Steam still considers to be 32 bit that actually aren’t and run just fine.