DirectX 12 was launched alongside Windows 10 in 2015 and it would have been a pretty big deal had it been supported on Windows 7 at that time. Four years have passed and a lot has changed since then. However, Microsoft has finally decided to take feedback into account that called on the company to enable DirectX12 Windows 7 support. It has done that but there’s a catch.
Even though DirectX 12 support is coming to Windows 7, it will only be good for select games. That’s because Microsoft is only working with a selected group of developers to port current DirectX 12 games to Windows 7. World of Warcraft is the first and currently the only game with DX12 support in Windows 7. That has been enabled with the 8.1.5 patch.
This change of heart on Microsoft’s part might appeal to some Windows 7 users but it doesn’t change the fact that DirectX 12 isn’t freely being supported on the operating system. Moreover, the company has already confirmed that Windows 7 reaches end of support on January 14th, 2020. It will also be sending out notifications to Windows 7 users in order to notify them about the impending end of support.
Microsoft has said that a few more games will be added to the list. “We are currently working with a few other game developers to port their D3D12 games to Windows 7. Please watch out for further announcements,” it confirmed.
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