[Windows] Drop support for Windows 7/8/8.1.

[bruvzg]

Changes min. supported version to Windows 10 and removes a bunch of old code.

Windows 7 support was broken by the addition of AccessKit (part of last two 4.5 dev builds). And Windows 8/8.1 is pointless to support, since it was always much less popular than Windows 7 and long dead. Extended support for both 7 and 8.1 ended years ago (even paid support for embedded POS editions, so there's no way to get security updates anymore).

Windows 7 market shared according to Steam - 0.12%, Windows 8/8.1 are not on the list. It's about the same in our issue stats.

[akien-mga]

Extended support for both 7 and 8.1 ended years ago (even paid support for embedded POS editions, so there's no way to get security updates anymore).

I checked the dates to make them explicit:

• Windows 7 is EOL for mainstream since Jan 13, 2015, extended support ended on Jan 14, 2020, and paid extended++ support ended on Jan 10, 2023.
• Windows 8.1 is EOL for mainstream since Jan 9, 2018, and extended support ended on Jan 10, 2023. Not other paid extension.

Windows 7 market shared according to Steam - 0.12%, Windows 8/8.1 are not on the list.

The sum of the 3 listed versions is 96.05%, while the Windows share is reported as 96.10%, so we can assume Windows 8/8.1 are the remaining 0.05%. Unless Steam somehow still works on Windows XP :P

---

So yeah, I think it's time to say goodbye to Windows < 10, even though I still feel Windows 10 is the new kid on the block 😅

[Mickeon]

There may be more places in the class reference, and godot-docs where Windows 7 is mentioned, or at least implied. Let's keep that in mind.

[FireCatMagic]

This is really disappointing to see to me, Godot's ability to run on older machines was something that I really enjoyed. Why not just have the stuff that requires AccessKit not work on OS that do not support it? I understand that not many people use these old OS, but Godot's support for them was really noble to me.

[bruvzg]

Why not just have the stuff that requires AccessKit not work on OS that do not support it?

It was done in multiple previous cases (e.g., in the case of DX12), when it was reasonably easy to do without compromising functionality, but this time there's no straightforward way to do it, since affected code is part of a third-party library.

[FireCatMagic]

Why not just have the stuff that requires AccessKit not work on OS that do not support it?

It was done in multiple previous cases (e.g., in the case of DX12), when it was reasonably easy to do without compromising functionality, but this time there's no straightforward way to do it, since affected code is part of a third-party library.

I don't think I'll be able to change anyone's minds, which makes sense given how old these OS are, but, at the very least, is it possible to support these old OS only if the engine is compiled with the accesskit disabled build option?

[bruvzg]

is it possible to support these old OS only if the engine is compiled with the accesskit disabled build option?

This means keeping (maintaining, and updating when new features are added) a lot of unneeded, messy code.

[Calinou]

Code looks good to me.

[Jesusemora]

This is really disappointing to see to me, Godot's ability to run on older machines was something that I really enjoyed. Why not just have the stuff that requires AccessKit not work on OS that do not support it? I understand that not many people use these old OS, but Godot's support for them was really noble to me.

Install linux.
Windows 7 should not be used in 2025, as stated, support ended in 2015, that's 10 years.

[FireCatMagic]

This is really disappointing to see to me, Godot's ability to run on older machines was something that I really enjoyed. Why not just have the stuff that requires AccessKit not work on OS that do not support it? I understand that not many people use these old OS, but Godot's support for them was really noble to me.

Install linux. Windows 7 should not be used in 2025, as stated, support ended in 2015, that's 10 years.

It's not about what I actively use, even though I did use win7 until 2023, I just liked the way godot made itself widely available and compatible for old systems.

It doesn't need to, but it was really nice that it did. I'm considering not updating my game past 4.5-dev2 because I really, really like having my game be playable on as many different systems as possible - even when it isn't explicitly necessary.

I just know there has to be more ways other than dropping compatibility entirely, and I think that this PR should be reconsidered. There's many others like me who take pride in having support for legacy systems, and it made me really happy that godot supported this.