In brief: If you want to play the PC version of the latest God of War, but you have a Windows 7/8/8.1 system, we're happy to be the bearer of some good news. Two modders have created a method that lets you play the game on older Windows operating systems.
We have known the PC version of God of War required Windows 10 as the bare minimum to run it since the system requirements were published. However, thanks to a mod developed by okt04175 and alan2350, fans can now play the action-adventure game on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1-based systems.
The tweakers found a way to modify the detection behavior of the OS version, allowing them to play on Win7/8/8.1. After modding the game to run on older Windows operating systems, you won't be able to play on Windows 10 and 11, which shouldn't matter for most. Worst case, you can verify the game files or just download the title again.
There are some requirements for the mod to work. These include doitsujin's dxvk, HansKristian-Work's vkd3d-proton, Sporif's DXVK-Async Patch, and marco-calautti's DeltaPatcher.
After downloading all the necessary mods, patch the GoW.exe file using the DeltaPatcher. Then paste the DXVK d3d11.dll and dxgi.dll files into the same folder that you have GoW.exe. If necessary, apply the DXVK-Async Patch to launch the game. You may also need to install Vulkan Runtime if you don't have it installed.
God of War for PC is available via Steam and Epic Games Store for $49.99.