Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows XP in 2009 and for Windows Vista in 2012. Five years later, Blizzard will finally stop supporting both of these now-ancient operating systems for five of its most popular games.
In a post on Blizzard's forums, community manager Nate Valenta announced that starting in October, "we will begin the process of ending support for Windows XP and Windows Vista in World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Hearthstone, and Heroes of the Storm."
He goes on to explain that when Microsoft ended support for its own operating systems, there were still many people using them to play Blizzard's games. So Blizzard decided to continue supporting them. In 2017, that's no longer the cases since most gamers have since upgraded their hardware and embraced more recent versions, from Windows 7 to Windows 10.
Blizzard makes it clear that when support ends in October, the games listed above will no longer run on Windows XP or Vista. The end of support will be staggered, so not all games will stop working as we reach October, but it's best to assume they will.
If you are someone who still plays Blizzard's games on these old operating systems, take this as your 10-week warning. At that point, the Blizzard games you enjoy playing are probably going to stop working unless you upgrade. And while performing that upgrade is going to mean spending some cash, it also unlocks several years of new games to play.
