Nvidia announces end of GPU driver updates for GeForce 10-series, Windows 10

If you last updated your gaming PC in late 2016, Nvidia has two pieces of bad news to share with you. First, it will no longer support the Maxwell, Pascal, or Volta GPU architectures with new Game Ready graphics driver updates after October 2025. That means GeForce GPUs from the GTX 900 and 10-series, including aging but enduringly popular cards like the GeForce GTX 1060, will no longer get optimized driver releases for new games starting this fall.

Second, Nvidia says it will wind down all driver support for Windows 10 in October of 2026. This is one year past Microsoft's officially announced end-of-support date for Windows 10, but it will cover users who choose to take advantage of the year of free extended security updates (ESUs) that Microsoft is offering to home users (we have a guide on how to get those updates if you want them). After that, people who want to continue getting graphics drivers for their Nvidia GPUs, including newer models in the RTX 40- and 50-series, will need to upgrade to Windows 11.

The Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta GPUs won't be totally abandoned after 2025; Nvidia says it will release quarterly security updates for these cards through October 2028. These updates won't optimize performance or fix bugs in any new games, but if you still have an older or hand-me-down PC using one of these cards to play Minecraft or Roblox, you won't be leaving yourself open to GPU-related security exploits.

Nvidia has dropped hints that the end of support for these older GPUs was coming. The company announced back in January that CUDA support for the Maxwell, Pascal, and Volta architectures was considered "feature complete" and was being frozen. This is the first time since 2021 that Nvidia has dropped support for older GPUs.

:story: Ars Technica