Nvidia Pulls Plug on Windows 10 Support for Gamers

Microsoft's decision to extend Windows 10 support until October 2027 has been met with a major caveat from Nvidia. The company has announced that it will stop releasing Game Ready Driver updates for Windows 10 in October 2026, effectively making the extension meaningless for gamers.

This move may seem surprising given that Microsoft extended security updates for another year, but Nvidia's decision is not unexpected. According to an updated support document, Nvidia will release the final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 10 in October 2026. Starting in November 2026, users will no longer receive game-related fixes or optimizations if they continue using Windows 10.

While security fixes are still guaranteed until at least October 2029, gamers may start to experience issues with newer games and bugs that never get patched. Nvidia's decision is reminiscent of its previous move when it stopped making GeForce Game Ready drivers for Windows 7, Windows 8, and 8.1 in October 2021.

Windows 10 still runs on a significant portion of PCs, with three out of ten still using the 'retired' OS. Microsoft's decision to extend support was likely due to these holdouts not wanting to move to Windows 11. However, Nvidia's announcement serves as a reminder that gamers should start considering making the switch to Windows 11.