Steam Next Fest October 2026: Dates, Free Demos and How to Participate

Steam Next Fest returns later this month with another week devoted to upcoming PC games. The October 2026 edition runs from October 19 at 10 a.m. PDT until October 26 at 10 a.m. PDT, giving players access to hundreds of free demos alongside developer livestreams and information about games still in development.

Unlike a traditional Steam sale, Next Fest is primarily a discovery event for unreleased games. Every participating title must have a publicly playable demo by the time the festival begins, making it an easy way to try upcoming releases before deciding whether to follow or wishlist them.

Once Next Fest begins, Steam will feature a dedicated festival page containing participating games. Players can browse the event to discover upcoming releases and narrow down the selection based on the categories and recommendations Steam presents.

Selecting a game opens its Steam store page, where its playable demo can be downloaded for free. Click the Download Demo or Install Demo button, choose an installation location if prompted, and Steam will add the demo to your library before beginning the download.

Some developers have already made their Next Fest demos available ahead of October 19. Others may wait until shortly before the event begins, so the full selection will not necessarily be playable in advance.

Next Fest also gives studios an opportunity to show their games through developer broadcasts. Steam moved these livestreams into their own section of the festival, allowing players to browse broadcasts separately from the main selection of demos.

Streams can include gameplay demonstrations, developer commentary and opportunities to interact with teams working on participating games. Not every developer is required to livestream, so the number and timing of broadcasts will differ throughout the week.

Valve no longer runs a single official Next Fest livestream. Instead, participating developers manage their own broadcasts during the event.

Trying a demo does not automatically add the full game to your Steam library or wishlist. If a demo leaves a good impression, open the main game's store page and select Add to your wishlist to keep track of it.

Wishlisting also makes it easier to find the game again when it approaches release. Steam can notify users about important store activity involving wishlisted games, while the wishlist itself provides a single place to monitor release dates and availability.

It is worth trying priority demos before October 26. Valve allows developers to keep demos available after Next Fest ends, but studios can also deactivate them once the festival is over.

Steam Cooking Fest is currently scheduled for October 12 through October 19, immediately before Next Fest begins. The two events serve different purposes despite both featuring playable demos.

Cooking Fest is a themed Steam event built around cooking, restaurant and food-service games, including released titles with discounts as well as upcoming games and demos. Steam Next Fest instead focuses specifically on unreleased games from across many genres and is centered on letting players try them before launch.

Cooking Fest ends at 10 a.m. PDT on October 19, the same time Steam Next Fest begins. Next Fest then runs for seven days before ending on October 26, when Valve will also publish its event wrap-up highlighting some of the festival's most-played demos.