Nvidia is cutting Windows 10 gamers down to security patches only
Even though Microsoft is providing security updates for Windows 10 until October 2027 via the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program, graphics card giant Nvidia is pulling out before then. Apart from security updates, Nvidia is ending Windows 10 feature support—a major blow for gamers still on the much-beloved operating system.
According to this support page (spotted by Windows Latest), Nvidia says: “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.”
Practically speaking, this means Nvidia will no longer release performance updates and new features for its “Game Ready Drivers” and “Nvidia Studio Drivers” on Windows 10. In short, Windows 10 users who have GeForce graphics cards in their PCs will be left hanging in the cold soon.
Nvidia is one of the first major companies to drop Windows 10 support. At first, the company went along with Microsoft’s decision to extend support for Windows 10 by one year (from October 2025 to October 2026). However, Nvidia isn’t re-upping on that decision with Microsoft’s second extension. GeForce drivers on Windows 10 will only get security updates once every quarter between October 2026 and October 2029.
Starting November 2029, GeForce drivers on Windows 10 will no longer receive any updates of any kind.
Existing games will continue to work on Windows 10 PCs. However, if new bugs are discovered in them, Nvidia will no longer provide bug fixes or optimizations. This drawback is likely to grow more noticeable over time.
Furthermore, Windows 10 users will not receive optimizations for newly released games. This could mean that gamers on Windows 10 PCs are left to deal with performance issues or bugs in new game titles on their own. This, in turn, is likely to lead to more gamers switching to Windows 11.
