Steam Next Fest October 2026: record 7240 demos - top festival and best finds
The Steam Next Fest demo festival, which took place from October 19 to October 26, 2026, ended with a record 7,240 games participating. For comparison, a year ago there were 2,963 projects at the October festival, which means an increase of more than 65%.
Festival figures
According to How to Market a Game analysts, in total for 2026, demos from the three Next Fest festivals reached 15,158 - this is 51.7% of the projected total number of releases on Steam for the year (about 29,300). The platform is growing at a rapid pace, and the festival has become the main way for many studios to express themselves before the release.
The top 25 demos based on peak online numbers ranged from 419 to 20,505 concurrent players. Action RPGs, crafting, open world games and JRPGs received the most attention, as before; platformers and logic puzzles lost noticeably this time.
What the best demos showed
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is a remaster of the 2002 arena fighting game with updated graphics and online multiplayer. Godzilla, Gigan and King Ghidorah are once again sorting things out by demolishing skyscrapers.
- GRIP 2: Combat Racing Evolved is a continuation of combat racing, where cars cling to walls and ceilings, and the new Crank mechanic allows you to jump from surface to surface.
- The Wolf Among Us Remastered is an updated edition of the Bigby Wolf story with redesigned lighting, animation and a new black and white Noir mode.
- Stronghold 4 is a prequel to the original Stronghold from Firefly Studios: castles, economies and sieges on larger maps.
- Warhammer Survivors is a “bullet heaven” in the Warhammer universe from Auroch Digital with the participation of the creator of Vampire Survivors. The full version promises more than 40 playable champions.
Interestingly, among the projects from the first hundred of the festival, only about 8% honestly disclosed the use of generative AI, while in the “tail” of thousands of little-known projects such disclosures amounted to about 35%. Apparently, quality studios still rely on handmade work.
The next big sale on Steam is winter, from December 17, 2026 to January 4, 2027. And today, October 26, the Halloween festival Steam Scream V starts, which will last until November 2.
Source: howtomarketagame.com , greenmangaming.com