If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Blizzard is ending support for Windows XP, and Vista in October across all of its games

You won't be able to play Blizzard games on Windows XP, and Vista starting this October.

Blizzard actually revealed plans to end support for the two OSes back in February, but it posted an updated note this week to remind players of the upcoming change.

The developer did not give a specific date for when this will start taking effect, though. Date or no date, World of Warcraft, StarCraft 2, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm will all cease to work on PCs running Vista, or XP.

The forum post noted that Microsoft itself ended support for both OSes in 2009 (XP) and 2012 (Vista), but Blizzard didn't when it saw that a number of players were still using them at the time. This number has now decreased, making the decision easier.

"There have been three major Windows releases since Vista, and at this point, the vast majority of our audience has upgraded to one of the newer versions," Blizzard wrote.

hearthstone_knights_of_the_frozen_throne_art_3

The change will be rolling out on a schedule that Blizzard will unveil as the time gets closer for each game. This presumably also means Battle.net will cease working on these platforms.

This is really more of an issue for older games, since Overwatch does not support these OSes, for instance.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

In this article

Diablo III

Video Game

Hearthstone

Video Game

See 3 more

Heroes of the Storm

PC, Mac

StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty

Video Game

World of Warcraft

PC, Mac

Related topics
About the Author
Sherif Saed avatar

Sherif Saed

Contributor

Sherif (he/him) is VG247’s go-to shooter and Souls-likes person. Whether it’s news, reviews, or op-eds – Sherif is always eager to tell you about video games. He's one of VG247's most veteran writers, with 10+ years experience on the site.

Comments