Hey, peeps.
As we are getting more and more modern games here, there is one question frequently arising: Does this run on Windows 7? So I decided to make a list, that shows whether a game, that has only Win 10 mentioned in the minimum requirements, runs on Win 7 or not.

To keep the thread clean, I´d ask you to:

1. Keep the thread free of trolling. Please no "get Win 10, bruh" comments. And please no "why not try Win 3.1?"
This thread is not about Win 7 vs. Win 10 superiority.

2. Feel free to post your own experience, if you got a game working on Win 7, or if you didn´t no matter what you tried. I will add the info to the list.

3. Please don´t take this list as a guarantee and don´t sue me, if a listed game does not work on your system.
I´ll try my best to include the sources of the listed information, but as we all know, many different hardware configurations can lead to many different problems.

As rule of thumb: Most games that require DirectX 12 won´t run on Win 7. But that is not true for all games, since Microsoft released some tools to help developers to port DirectX 12 games to Win 7.

Note: We are talking Win7 64Bit here. There are not many reasons to test or play the newest games on 32Bit systems.


Not working:

Blue Fire - does not work on Win 7. Here is a possible solution, without guarantee.
UPDATE: Find an alternative solution here.

Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure - According to user AB2012 and eight reviews the game only runs on Win 10 and DirectX 12.

Horizon Zero Dawn - It won´t run on anything below Win 10. (I can´t find the link atm, but a modder in the Steam forums wrote, it can´t be made Win 7- compatible without manipulating the source code.

Jars: seems not to work.

Little Nightmares 2 - The Demo and the full game do not work after installation. But there is a fix for it. You can google it, or see a list of bugs and fixes here. The fix should work for Win 8.1 too.
Here is a more recent fix for the Enhanced version. But you will need a HexEditor.

Riddle of the Sphinx The Awakening (Enhanced Edition) - confirmed to be Win 10 only. The developer has given up trying to solve a black-screen at startup issue on Win 7.

The Riftbreaker - The Demo does not work on Win 7. That´s a strong indication that the full version won´t work either. But someone in the Steam forum wrote, that this is not hard coded, instead it´s a deliberate decision from the developers to block the game exe for Win 7. Should that be true, there is a chance that someone will remove the block.

Saints Row IV Re-Elected - The latest patch to the Re-Elected version seems to break compatibility. The Game of the Century version works though.

Six Ages: Ride Like the Wind - does not work on anything before Windows 10, as per here.

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse - this solution works for some, but not for all users.

Warhammer 40,000: Dakka Squadron: seems not to work.

Winter Ember - The demo does not work on Win 7. We´ll have to wait for further info.

List of working games:

UPDATE: Also, check out this list made by iamtiredof, who puts a lot of effort into testing games and posting the results.

Can we also take Windows 8.1 into consideration?

Sure, I´ll add it to the respective game.

At least when Cyberpunk 2077 was released in December, there was no support for DX12 on Windows 8.x. I presume this is still the case. That is why you can play Cyberpunk 2077 on Windows 7 and 10 but not 8.x.

Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure is a DX12 exclusive (W10 only) that does not work on W7.

Windows 8.x is like Vista or Windows ME: the Windows version that very few used but everyone "hated".

Frankly, I don't understand why someone would still use Windows 8.x and not having upgraded to 10 (for free). In my eyes, Windows 8.x has all the downsides of Windows 10 (and even more downsides), and none of its benefits. Similarly like Vista, to me, appeared like some kind of test beta version of Windows 7.

I can kinda understand why someone would still cling to Windows 7 (I do too in one of my laptops, mainly so that I can play some CD/DVD games on it that have copy protections that just don't work on Windows 10), so in that sense Windows 7 will remain similar as what XP was, widely used many many years after its support had already ended.

Appreciate it. I'll also try to do my part as I'm still running 8.1 for gaming. In all fairness, 8.1 does not even come close to the amount of bloatware 10 has. Plus, it uses less RAM (about half or even more), gaming is decent enough (haven't had any issues so far in years) and if the lack of a Start button irks you, you can always install Classic Shell. I'll admit, I was annoyed at the beginning, but I've grown accustomed in time. Now I use it as it is since I can easily access (with right click) different tools (cmd for example). The only downside I see is the lack of DX12, if you're into new games that is. I, for one, do not care for DX12.

Aside from continuing to abuse rule #1 (:P); why not just crack them or download a pre-cracked version?

Personally, I trust root kits less than cracks and trainers.. I've never had so much trouble with root kits on my computers than anything else, and it's much easier to test, scan and monitor cracks and trainers.

I've dropped out of loop where the cool kids go nowadays to get their noCD cracks, and it is easier to find working updates for the original non-cracked versions (ie. I am unsure if some noCD crack will also work with updated retail version, or should there be different noCD cracks for different versions).

Redownloading a cracked version of the whole game is also one option, but then there is even less guarantee of getting the latest updates (the "warez group" releases are usually the 0-day 1.00 releases with no updates), and I also have lots of retail games that are probably not that popular and known, meaning the cracked versions are not necessarily that easily available either. Something like e.g. Time Warriors (1997). Or then the "abandonware" version is a ripped version missing movies and music, especially if the music was in audio CD format.

Just to mention it: Galaxy runs fine on Win7, although it says "min Win 8.1" (afaik) on the box. Game time tracking does not work for - but I think that's an issue with my install.
If you mean DX12 - it has to be bundled with the game and needs special treatment. There is no separate installer for it for W7. The game dev has to explicitly make it work. First game to do it was WoW iirc.

<*((((x<

It's the OS that take less time for me to do stuff. Like partrick once I get to use it, cannot go back to Windows 7 clunkyness and can't recall a single program or game that won't run properly (except the obvious DX12 only).
There are quirks, but is the OS that gave me less quirks overall. Also, running Windows 10 on a machine with 4Gb RAM or less and a mechanical hard drive is a nightmare, specially if it's running casually for short burts (like checking e-mail). Plenty of low end devices converted to e-waste due to wear on EMMC storage due the constant swap.
Win 8.1 with Classic Shell installed (and properly setup) is a very solid choice for a OS, albeit not a popular one. Looks good, is fast, use little resources, can be tweaked to be a Win7 big step up (just a couple of options, nothing major) and still supported if that's your thing. Sorry for the off topic and thank for including Win 8.1.


Edit: fixing quotes

My main motivation was to avoid paying more money to Microsoft for yet another software license, itself time-limited and overpriced.
Unfortunately, the last PC just died and a new one only comes with the latest release and an opportunity to upgrade at your earliest convenience.

Are we assuming 64 or 32 bit Windows 7?

Wasn't the upgrade (from Windows 7 or 8 to 10) free for pretty much everyone? At least it was for me, I am eligible even for the (free) Windows 10 Pro version for this old laptop where I use Windows 7 and Linux Mint side by side instead. :) I also recall activating the free Windows 10 on several of my friends' Windows 7 or 8 PCs as well.

Also as far as I've understood, just installing Windows 10 (with e.g. the MS Media Creation Tool) and never activating it doesn't really block you from any important features or functionality, mainly just some "can't change the wallpaper" kind of cosmetic stuff. And it doesn't even nag that much, just keeping some watermark on the wallpaper that Windows is not activated.

Whether it will also stay that way forever, who knows. Maybe MS cares less nowadays about the money it gets from license sales of Windows 10 Home, as long as as many users as possible are using it. Maybe there is a bit of push also because there are free alternatives too, like Linux, or how Google doesn't charge for Android (I think?).

Maybe MS has already decided that Azure is their future bread and butter anyway, for the most part.