Steam Next Fest, Valve’s week of demos of upcoming PC games, returns on Monday, October 19. It is the best moment of the season to try independent games before they come out, and to add the ones you like to your wishlist.
Dates and times
According to Valve’s documentation for developers, the event starts on October 19 at 10:00 PDT, which is 17:00 UTC and 19:00 in central Europe. It ends on October 26 at 10:00 PDT, again 17:00 UTC. In central Europe that will be 18:00, because clocks go back an hour on October 25.
How it works
- Every game in the event has a demo you can play during the week.
- All of them are unreleased: Valve only admits games that will launch after the event ends.
- Each game can take part in a single Next Fest, so the line-up is new every time.
- When the event closes on October 26, Steam publishes a wrap-up with the most-played demos.
What changes this time
Valve’s documentation notes two differences from earlier editions. There is no official livestream: broadcasts by developers are optional and have their own tab. And the way the event is organised has been reworked from the previous genre tabs.
The press has had access to the demos since October 8, so expect previews and recommendation lists in the days before the event opens.
A tip
A demo is only guaranteed during the event; afterwards it is up to each developer whether to keep it available. If a game catches your eye, play it during the week and add it to your wishlist, so Steam can tell you when it launches. The next Next Fest is planned for February 2027.
This article was written with AI assistance from the sources linked above.