Nvidia to end “Game Ready” GPU support for Windows 10 this year

Nvidia confirms plan to axe “Game Ready” GPU support for Windows 10 this year

Nvidia has confirmed that it plans to stop releasing GeForce “Game Ready” and “Studio” drivers for Windows 10 later this year. The last mainstream GeForce driver update to support Windows 10 will arrive in October 2026. After that, Nvidia will support Windows 10 only through quarterly security updates. These updates will be available until October 2029.

After October 2026, Nvidia GeForce users will need to use Windows 11 to access the company’s newest “Game Ready” and “Studio” drivers. Since not all Windows 10 PCs support Windows 11, this change may force some gamers to upgrade their PCs or purchase new ones.

Below is Nvidia’s statement on its GeForce support plan for Windows 10.

Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 10 will officially end on October 14, 2025. NVIDIA will continue to fully support Windows 10 with Game Ready Drivers and NVIDIA Studio Drivers for an additional year. After October 2026, Windows 10 driver support will transition to a quarterly security update for a period of three years where critical bug fixes will be delivered to end users through October 2029.

FAQ
Q: Why is NVIDIA removing support for Windows 10 from Game Ready Drivers and NVIDIA Studio Drivers?
A: Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. Given the large number of GeForce users currently using Windows 10, NVIDIA has opted to extend support for an additional year.

Q: When will the final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 10 go public?
A: October 2026

Q: When will the first Game Ready Driver that doesn’t support Windows 10 go public?
A: November 2026

Q: How long will Windows 10 continue to receive critical security driver updates from NVIDIA?
A: Security updates will continue through October 2029.

– Nvidia Customer Support

Microsoft has extended its Windows 10 Extended Security Updates to October 2027

Earlier this year, Microsoft extended its Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for Windows 10. This gives Windows 10 users access to Microsoft security updates until October 12th 2027.

With Microsoft providing Windows 10 users security support for another year, Nvidia could continue supporting Windows 10 users with GeForce Game Ready and Studio drivers. While quarterly security drivers will be useful to Windows 10 users, they won’t provide support for new features or access to new game-specific optimisations. As such, gamers will be best off moving to Windows 11 if their hardware supports it. That said, it is disappointing that Nvidia hasn’t extended its mainstream driver support following Microsoft’s ESU extension.

By axing mainstream Windows 10 support, Nvidia can focus its Windows driver efforts entirely on Windows 11. These freed-up resources could help Nvidia improve its Windows 11 drivers. That said, it remains to be seen if this will be the case.

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