Steam Client to Require macOS 12+ Starting October 15 - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Steam Client to Require macOS 12+ Starting October 15

Steam will stop supporting macOS 11 Big Sur on October 15, 2025, according to Valve, requiring Mac users to upgrade to macOS Monterey or later to continue accessing the gaming platform.

steam apple logo
The reason Steam will soon stop working on Big Sur is due to the client's reliance on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older macOS versions. Future Steam updates will also require security features only available in macOS 12 and above.

Apple also discontinued security updates for Big Sur in 2023, and that's left legacy systems vulnerable to malware that could compromise Steam accounts and game performance. Valve is strongly recommending affected Mac users upgrade before the October deadline.

The announcement comes amid Steam's transition to a native Apple silicon client following Apple's stated plan to phase out Rosetta 2. Valve released the first native beta shortly after WWDC in June, signalling its dedication to continue to support Mac gaming. Testers have generally reported dramatically faster launch times and smoother navigation through the Store and Library.

Not that if you're still running Big Sur, you won't be able to launch Steam or any purchased games after the cutoff date.

Tag: Steam

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
ios 26 4 pastel

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...

Top Rated Comments

8 months ago
That's fair.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
8 months ago

I don't have a Steam account, so can't check, but I thought the majority of the games didn't make the 32-bit to 64-bit transition? Surprised they are updating the client.
The client is the easy bit; nothing to do with games themselves.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ImperialForces Avatar
8 months ago
… at least Steam is updating the MacOS client.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Sydnxt Avatar
8 months ago

What's the client without games?
Essentially, any 32-bit macOS game that wasn't actively receiving new features or updates was not updated. Games released after 2018 are typically 64-bit and work properly. Additionally, some games are even native, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Factorio.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WarmWinterHat Avatar
8 months ago

The client is the easy bit; nothing to do with games themselves.
What's the client without games?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
8 months ago
I'll be able to look at my entirely unplayable Steam library of games that I bought when they were ported to Mac, then Apple dropped support for every single one a few years later...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Ecovacs Deebot X11 Omnicyclone | Watchos | Ios 27 | Iphone Deals | Bluetti Elite 30 V2 Power Station