AMD has confirmed that there will be no Windows 8.1 32-bit Radeon driver support anymore thanks to extremely low install-base of the OS.

AMD Drops Windows 8.1 32-bit Radeon support with Latest Crimson ReLive drivers

AMD just released its latest Radeon Software Crimson ReLive drivers, version 17.2.1. The WHQL release didn’t introduce any new features, but it’s a game release-synced driver update that offers Multi GPU profiles and optimizations for Sniper Elite 4, and For Honor.

However, as noticed by TechPowerUp, AMD apparently dropped Windows 8.1 32-bit Radeon driver support with this latest software release. The publication decided to ask AMD if it accidentally missed publishing the driver or there was something else behind the missing download link.

AMD replied back saying they aren’t supplying new drivers for Windows 8.1 32-bit because “nobody cares about” the particular Windows OS anymore. Here are the two main reasons cited by the AMD representative for ending Windows 8.1 32-bit Radeon support:

Extremely low download numbers for the driver.

Cutting driver development team costs by discarding OSes and architectures that have a minimal audience.

TPU also notes that it’s unlikely for players to run modern AAA PC games on an OS that has such limited RAM support (approx. 3.5GB max) available to the system. Majority of AAA titles require 64-bit Windows OS with recommended 8GB of system RAM or more.

Read More: Windows 7 runs on Kaby Lake processor with an older IGP driver

In addition to this, the success of the Windows 10 free upgrade program has also played a key role in marginalisation the 32-bit version of Windows 8.1. The extremely low install-base urged AMD to recently allocate its developer resources to focus on faster driver updates for popular OSes, such as Windows 10 and Windows 7.

On CPU side of things however, AMD has already confirmed that it won’t ship its latest Ryzen drivers for both Windows 7 and 8.1. The company will only support and provide drivers for Windows 10.

This means AMD will maintain a position that it, along with Intel, has held for the last year. Both Intel Kaby Lake and AMD Ryzen CPUs will officially be supported only under Microsoft’s flagship Windows OS.