Steam Next Fest is live until 26 October
Thousands of free demos are playable on Steam until 26 October, with a new browsing UI. Valve's Steamworks page lists the event's timeline and the wrap-up of the most-played demos.
Steam Next Fest is live. The October 2026 edition runs from 19 October at 10am PDT until 26 October at 10am PDT, which is 6pm UK time on the 19th to 5pm on the 26th, after the clocks go back. Players can try thousands of free demos, chat with developers, watch livestreams and wishlist upcoming games. On launch day Steam said on X that the festival has "a new and improved UI" for browsing them.
Valve's Steamworks page for this edition shows how the event worked behind the scenes. Press could play opted-in demos from 8 October. Everything a game needed to take part had to be submitted for review by 28 September. Developers taking part had to put their demo live, or opt out, before the start on 19 October.
When the festival ends on 26 October, Steam will publish a wrap-up. It features the games whose demos were played most during the event.
If you missed this edition, the Steamworks documentation is the official place to read the rules and find future dates. Valve runs Next Fest three times a year, and the registration and review deadlines come weeks before each one.
Why it matters: For a small game, Next Fest is one of the biggest free chances to get found and collect wishlists. It's worth playing a few demos in your own genre this week, and planning your demo, trailer and store page around the next edition's deadlines.
Source: Steamworks Documentation (official post, opens in a new tab)
