Eager to give new games ago without your bank balance giving you a disapproving sigh? Look to the week ahead, because Steam Next Fest is on the way. Set to take place from July 19 - 26, it’ll feature a wealth of demos for unreleased titles – and likely some discounts too.
If you’re too desperate even to wait until Monday, we’ve already found 21 games that have dropped demos following their appearances in the various summer showcases like Summer Game Fest. Expect that number to rise into the hundreds when Steam Next Fest kicks off, as developers across the world give us a look at the exciting projects they’ve been tinkering away at behind the scenes.
What is Steam Next Fest?
Steam Next Fest is a celebration of upcoming titles held on Valve’s PC gaming distribution platform, Steam. During each Steam Next Fest – last year featured several – hundreds of developers open the gates to their upcoming games by adding demos to their store pages.
In addition, Steam plays host to a week of developer livestreams, giving the chance for the teams behind their games to show them off before encouraging you to hop in and give it a go for yourself.
The demos and featured games are all categorized within the Next Fest section of the Steam Store, letting you easily browse through genres like strategy or puzzle, and you can even hunt down upcoming VR releases to try out. In the case of recent releases, you'll also find several sales applied for the duration of the festival.
© Valve
When is Steam Next Fest?
June 2023’s Steam Next Fest will start at 10 AM PT on June 19. It will end at the same time on June 26. That’s seven full days during which you can dive into the ball pit of demos and just have fun. Many developers keep their demos available after Steam Next Fest ends, but it’s far from a guarantee, so make sure to try out any games that you’re especially interested in before the showcase ends.
What should I play during Steam Next Fest?
When Steam Next Fest starts, we’ll do our best to rifle through the gargantuan pile of demos and find a selection of games worth trying. We can’t guarantee we’ll get to everything included that's great – there are simply far too many games to play – but we’ll certainly do our best to give you a starting selection and ensure you're having a good time. Check back with us early next week for our roundup. For now, you can check out those early demos here, or read a little more on the Steam Next Fest page.
