NVIDIA will support Windows 10 into late 2026
NVIDIA has answered a question that many people have been mulling over. It is now very well known that Windows 10 reaches the end of its life in October this year – although there is the option of extending support for up to year. But what of the software that runs on Windows 10?
Some companies – including Microsoft – have indicated when some of their software will no longer be supported on Windows 10, and now NVIDIA has shared some important information. The company has revealed to gamers how it intends to handle support for Windows 10 Game Ready drivers.
Despite the rising popularity of Windows 11, Windows 10 remains in wide use, including in the gaming community. NVIDIA is well-aware of this, and it is with this in mind that it has published details of its support plan For Maxwell, Pascal and Volta architecture GPUs, and Windows 10.
In a blog post about the release of the latest Game Ready Driver which it says optimizes the gaming experience in Mafia: The Old Country GeForce, the company says:
After a final Game Ready Driver release in October 2025, GeForce GPUs based on Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta architectures will transition to receiving quarterly security updates for the next three years (through October 2028). Our support lifetime for these GPUs reaches up to 11 years, well beyond industry norms.
Support from NVIDIA
NVIDIA then goes on to talk about Microsoft’s decade-old operating system, telling gamers what they can expect:
Also, we’re extending Windows 10 Game Ready Driver support for all GeForce RTX GPUs to October 2026, a year beyond the operating system’s end-of-life, to ensure users continue to receive the latest day-0 optimizations for new games and apps.
What this means is that games will remain playable on Windows 10 for over a year from now. During this time, the drivers will be fixed, patched and updated so there should be no titles that fall through the cracks.
When October 2026 rolls around, things could start to look a little different, however. While games – and, indeed, graphics cards – will not suddenly stop working, there will be no more updates of any sort. This means that performance issues, glitches, security problems and the like will remain unfixed from this date. It also means that post October 2026, no new games will be added to the list of supported titles.
The implications of Windows 10 reaching end of support are starting to be noticed more widely. More and more companies are starting to let people know about their plans for software support on Windows 10. Although there is not a complete consensus, the majority of announcements seem to be in line with NVIDIA’s plan to provide support for one year after Microsoft ceases support for Windows 10.
There are companies such as 0patch who are helping to extend the life of Windows 10 for those who want, or need, to keep using it beyond October 2026. There is plan available that will provide security patches into the next decade:
As Microsoft support for Windows 10 ends October 2025, 0patch steps in to ensure your computers remain protected. For those unable to upgrade or purchase Extended Security Updates (ESU), 0patch offers a seamless solution with five additional years of critical security patches until October 2030.
Clearly, Windows 10 has a massive user base and it is understandable that 0patch (and others) would consider providing a solution. Whether or not there will be similar third-party support options popping up for other software – such as drivers – remains to be seen.
How do you think Microsoft and third parties are handling the end of Windows 10? What would you like to see happening?