If you play Steam games on macOS 11 (Big Sur), you've got two months to upgrade your OS before the Steam Client stops working.
While this rules out some older Macs, it'll continue to work on any running macOS 12 and above.
While Apple is preparing to launch macOS 26, many Mac users prefer to stay with older versions of the operating system either because the latest versions don't support their kit. However, if you're a Steam gamer, that could be a problem in a couple of months from now.
From 15 October 2025, Steam will officially stop supporting macOS 11 Big Sur.
This isn't just a case of Steam saying there won't be any more updates to the Steam Client for macOS 11. It's Steam saying that from that date, the Steam Client will stop working on that version of macOS entirely.
That means if you want to keep playing your Steam games on your Mac, you'll need to upgrade your OS.
The good news is that even if your hardware is quite old, you should still be able to get macOS 12 Monterey.
Steam on macOS: what's happening and what you need to do
Valve says that the end of support isn't really its fault. The Steam Client relies in part on an embedded version of Google Chrome, and that version no longer functions on older versions of macOS.
From October, all versions of the Steam Client for Mac will be using "macOS features and security updates only present in macOS 12 and above".
Even if you're not a Steam gamer it's worth upgrading. As Valve points out, Apple stopped issuing security updates for macOS 11 in 2023, so every day becomes a little riskier if you're on that older OS.
In addition, macOS 12 Monterey compatibility does go back quite a long way: it'll run on 10-year-old iMacs, MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros. The compatible Macs are:
- iMac (Late 2015 or later)
- iMac Pro (2017)
- MacBook (Early 2016 or later)
- MacBook Air (Early 2015 or later)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2015 or later)
- Mac Mini (Late 2014 or later)
- Mac Pro (Late 2013 or later)
- Mac Studio (2022)
