Steam Next Fest October 2026 runs from Monday, October 19 at 17:00 UTC (10 a.m. PDT) to Monday, October 26 at 17:00 UTC, according to Valve’s Steamworks schedule. For one week, upcoming games offer free demos on Steam, with developer livestreams alongside. Below: the start time in your time zone, how the event works, and ten demos whose developers have confirmed they’re taking part.
- Dates: October 19, 17:00 UTC to October 26, 17:00 UTC (7 days).
- Price: every Next Fest demo is free. You only need a Steam account.
- Where: the Steam Next Fest page on the Steam store and in the Steam client.
- Afterwards: Valve publishes a wrap-up page of the most-played demos on October 26, and the horror-themed Steam Scream V Fest runs October 26 to November 2.
Table of Contents
Steam Next Fest October 2026 start and end times
Valve sets the times in Pacific time. Watch the clock change: the UK and most of Europe move back an hour on October 25, in the middle of the fest, while the US doesn’t change until November 1.
| Time zone | Starts (Oct 19) | Ends (Oct 26) |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | 17:00 | 17:00 |
| US Pacific (PDT) | 10 a.m. | 10 a.m. |
| US Eastern (EDT) | 1 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
| UK | 6 p.m. (BST) | 5 p.m. (GMT) |
| Central Europe | 7 p.m. (CEST) | 6 p.m. (CET) |
| India (IST) | 10:30 p.m. | 10:30 p.m. |
| Korea (KST) | 2 a.m. on Oct 20 | 2 a.m. on Oct 27 |
How Steam Next Fest works
Only unreleased games can take part. Valve’s rules say each game needs a public store page and a playable demo by the start of the fest, has to launch after October 26, and can only join one Next Fest. A “prologue” or “chapter 1” sold as a separate product doesn’t count. The next edition after this one is in February 2027.
Some demos are already live, because developers can release them early. Others switch on right at 17:00 UTC on Monday. Demos aren’t guaranteed to stay up after October 26. Valve encourages developers to leave them online, but it’s their call, and some, like Loftia’s, are confirmed to last for the fest only. If a game catches your eye, the useful thing to do is wishlist it. Wishlists tell Steam to email you when the game launches or goes on sale, and they matter a lot to small studios.
The livestreams have their own tab on the Next Fest page. Since October 2024 there’s no official Valve broadcast, only optional streams from developers.
Next Fest demos worth trying first
Every game below has a Steam post from its developer confirming October Next Fest plans. Release dates are from each game’s Steam page as of October 18. We’ve weighted the list toward cozy and indie games, plus a few bigger names.
| Game | Genre | Steam release | Demo note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loftia | Cozy multiplayer life sim | Early Access Nov 3 | Fest only; progress carries over |
| Cat Cafe Manager 2: Big City Bliss | Cozy management sim | Q4 2026 (Early Access) | Updated demo on Oct 19 |
| Hela: of Mice & Magic | Co-op puzzle adventure | Dec 1 | Out now; local co-op only |
| Muri: Wildwoods | Cozy exploration | Dec 7 | Next Fest update already live |
| Orion Blue | Cozy fishing life sim | Late November | Out now; about 4 hours |
| Drawquarium | Relaxing aquarium sandbox | Q4 2026 | Confirmed; first demo was in May |
| Stronghold 4 | Castle-building strategy | Dec 7 | Skirmish mode added Oct 19 |
| Northgard Battlegrounds | City-building auto-battler | Early Access Oct 27 | Wolf clan added Oct 19 |
| We Are So Cooked | 1-4 player co-op stealth | Q1 2027 | First public demo |
| ArcheAge Chronicles | Action RPG/MMO | To be announced | Worldwide, 2-3 hours |
Decorating a shared-neighborhood home in Loftia, whose Next Fest demo progress carries over to Early Access. Image: Qloud Games
Cozy picks
Loftia is worth your time if you want a farming-and-decorating life sim you can play with friends. Qloud Games says the demo goes live on October 19 at 1 p.m. EDT (17:00 UTC) and stays up until October 26. It covers the opening Loftia City questline: growing crops, setting up a home in a shared neighborhood, group puzzles and social minigames. It’s the one to try early, because everything you earn carries over to the Early Access launch on November 3.
Cat Cafe Manager 2 already has a demo. Roost Games is releasing an updated version on the fest’s first day, adding character and cat customization (demo versions) and the return of Bonner, a fan favorite from the first game.
Hela: of Mice & Magic is for anyone who likes small-scale exploration. The demo is a self-contained story set in a Northern Sweden-inspired forest made just for it, not a slice of the full game. You play as a mouse solving physics puzzles with a magical backpack. Developer Windup says it supports local split-screen co-op (online co-op is full game only) and runs on Steam Deck.
Muri: Wildwoods puts you in charge of a small cleaner restoring a corrupted island. Speldosa Interactive’s Next Fest update added a dodge roll, an unlockable outfit, progress tracking and more languages, with one more patch promised before the 19th.
Cat Cafe Manager 2 gets an updated demo with character and cat customization on October 19. Image: Roost Games
Orion Blue is a fishing and home-building game set on an alien planet, with an idle option if you’d rather let it run. Its developer says the free demo covers 10 in-game days (about four hours) and is playable now. EXLIX is streaming demo gameplay all week, with the developers live on October 20 at 12:00 UTC. Drawquarium lets you draw your own fish and watch them live in a tank that can double as a desktop wallpaper. Its solo developer confirmed it for Next Fest and has added breeding, tank cleaning and unlockable brushes since the spring demo. If you liked our upcoming cozy games list or our games like Stardew Valley roundup, start with these.
Strategy, co-op and bigger names
Stronghold 4‘s current demo has Free Build on the series’ largest map. Firefly Studios says Skirmish mode joins it when Next Fest starts on October 19. Northgard Battlegrounds, an auto-battler in which every building you place shapes your Viking clan, adds the Clan of the Wolf to its demo on the same day, a week before its October 27 Early Access launch.
Stronghold 4's demo adds Skirmish mode on October 19, ahead of the December 7 launch. Image: Firefly Studios
We Are So Cooked is a 1-4 player physics-stealth game: you and your friends have to get rid of a body without being caught. Dwarven Brothers delayed the game to 2027, but Next Fest brings its first public demo. ArcheAge Chronicles is XLGAMES’ action RPG. The producer’s October 18 letter says the demo has no regional restrictions, servers in North America, Europe and Asia, roughly two to three hours of quests, PvP channels from the start and a hidden-key dungeon, Throne of Hinnon.
This week’s deals box
Prices are in US dollars, checked live on October 18 at 19:30 UTC. Our full PC deals roundup follows tomorrow.
| Deal | Store | Price | Ends (UTC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | Steam | $17.99 (70% off $59.99) | Oct 26, 18:00 |
| Street Fighter 6 | Steam | $15.99 (60% off $39.99) | Oct 21, 17:00 |
| Oblivion GOTY Edition Deluxe | GOG | $4.99 (75% off $19.99) | Oct 26, 07:59 |
| Castlevania Anniversary Collection | Epic | 60% off ($19.99 normally) | Starts Oct 19, 15:00; ends Nov 2, 16:00 |
| Monument Valley | Epic | 65% off ($7.99 normally) | Starts Oct 19, 15:00; ends Nov 2, 16:00 |
| Bad Cheese + Agent A | Epic | Free to keep | Oct 22, 15:00 |
The Cyberpunk discount lands the same week as Edgerunners 2 on Netflix (October 20), and Street Fighter 6 is cheap while the new Street Fighter movie tops the box office. For more on the Epic freebies, see our Bad Cheese and Agent A guide and next week’s free games. The Epic prices come from Epic’s own promotions data.
FAQ
When does Steam Next Fest October 2026 start?
Monday, October 19, 2026 at 17:00 UTC (10 a.m. PDT, 1 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. in the UK). It ends on Monday, October 26 at the same UTC time.
Are Steam Next Fest demos free?
Yes. Every demo is free to download and play with a Steam account. Some are only available during the fest, so check the developer’s notes on the store page.
When is the next Steam Next Fest after October 2026?
Valve’s Steamworks documentation lists the next editions for February 2027 and June 2027.
Sources: Steamworks: Steam Next Fest October 2026, Steamworks upcoming events, developer posts on Steam (linked above), Steam, GOG and Epic store data checked October 18, 2026.
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Featured image: Windup
