Blizzard is ditching XP and Vista — for real this time

By Jon Martindale February 20, 2017

blizzard xp vista support hearthstonechicken — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Blizzard has joined a growing number of developers and software makers who no longer offer official support for the aging Windows XP and Vista operating systems. Announced in a forum thread discussing the move, Blizzard said that it will drop support for those two OS’s before the end of the year.

Much like Microsoft, it has actually been quite some time since Blizzard officially supported XP and Vista. It announced in 2016 that it would be ditching both operating systems from its official support list, but since a good number of its players still used them, it continued to support them behind the scenes. Now though, with most having moved on to more modern operating systems, the firm has decided to cut the cord for good.

Throughout this year, Blizzard will release updates for its games — World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm – which will kill the ability of anyone running XP or Vista to play them. If you are still running one of those older systems and want to play any of the above games you will need to upgrade.

Blizzard hasn’t made it clear when these patches will arrive and we’re told they will be staggered rather than launched all at once, but the updates are coming.

Blizzard joins the likes of Google in its decision to drop support for those two operating systems. The software giant announced earlier this month that it would be reducing its support for Windows XP and Vista with its Gmail platform, over security concerns.

Microsoft ended any form of general, extended support for the near-16-year-old Windows XP a couple of years ago, and full support as far back as 2009. That means it lacks many recent security updates and improvements of its more contemporary alternatives. However it does maintain some support for key government industries, like the U.S. Navy.

Regardless of that specific case though, you really should upgrade to Windows 10, if only for its security benefits.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Computing Coordinator

Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…

Computing

What if Windows XP had launched in 2019? Here’s what it would look like

concept video shows windows xp sleek 2019 ui style winxp 2

A new video out this week explores a unique proposition that most modern computers likely haven't thought of: What if Windows XP got reworked to show off circa-2019 design and functionality elements? The morbidly curious need not wonder anymore, as YouTube user Avdan released an animated mock-up teasing his take on the question.

The 95-second clip hits the viewer with early-2000s nostalgia right out of the gate by flashing the classic Windows XP Start button before landing on the bootup loading screen, which stays true to its spiritual predecessor except for the "2019 Edition" label under the loading bar.

Computing

Real-time ray tracing to come to Windows 7 through DirectX 12 support

u s military reportedly uses unlicensed copies windows 7 laptop

Gamers stubbornly hanging on to Windows 7 and refusing to upgrade to Windows 10 may soon be able to play ray tracing-enabled titles on Microsoft's older platform. The company is expanding its efforts to support DirectX 12 on the aging operating system, which means that game developers will soon be able to port DirectX Ray tracing, or DXR, titles to Windows 7. Given that the aging operating system commands a little more than 31% of the Windows OS market share, the move could also help spur adoption of Nvidia's latest GeForce RTX graphics cards among Windows 7 gamers who previously had no reason to upgrade their GPUs given that they weren't able to take advantage of the flagship ray tracing feature of the new cards.

This latest effort from Microsoft in supporting gamers on Windows 7 follows a more limited effort to bring DirectX to Blizzard's World of Warcraft on Windows 7 late last year. That move brought substantial improvements to game play, including a boost in frame rates, given that DirectX added multi-threading support. At the time, however, Microsoft cautioned that Windows 10 still had OS improvements that would make low-level graphics API run more efficiently.

Computing

Steam to drop support for Windows XP and Vista on January 1

china to release a desktop os rival windows in october xp

Valve's Steam Store has come a long way since it first debuted in 2003, adding support for a number of operating systems over the years. Some have fallen at the wayside though and starting on Tuesday, January 1, Windows XP and Windows Vista will join that list. After that date, the client will not run on those operating systems, forcing anyone still using them to upgrade or face not being able to play their favorite games anymore.

Although backward compatibility and legacy support are hallmarks of the PC platform, there are a number of good reasons for removing support for aging operating systems. Security is a major concern, but compatibility is an issue, too. Older platforms can hold back features and enhancements that could otherwise be enjoyed by modern PC users.