Steam
Steam Next Fest: what is it, and what games can you play for free?
A new edition of Steam Next Fest is here, with hundreds of upcoming games ready for people to try. Here’s what you need to know about it.
If you thought the season of summer game announcements is over, you’ll be glad to know that’s not the case! While the big companies (except Nintendo) have all had their time with big conferences and livestreams to announce their AAA titles, there are hordes of games coming from developers all over the world eager to show you their upcoming games. And unlike the rest of the events that restrict access to media and specific influencers, you can actually try all of these for yourself!
It’s called Steam Next Fest, and as the name implies it is an event organized by and through Steam, the digital PC game store created by Valve. The event is described as “a multi-day celebration where fans can try out demos, chat with developers, watch livestreams, and learn about upcoming games on Steam.”
For developers, Steam Next Fest is an opportunity to get early feedback from players and build an audience for a future launch on Steam. This means that any developer that is willing to pay the registration fee for distributing their game through the platform are completely free to participate in the event with a public demo, or with their own livestreams to showcase what they’re working on.
In it, you’ll find everything from bigger, “AA” style games from well established studios and publishers, as well as smaller indie titles with one or two person teams behind them. The platform’s algorithm will show you a variety of filters to see what kind of games you may like according to your wishlist and previously played titles, but it’s better to dive into the event hungry to see what you can find.
Steam typically hosts three editions of Steam Next Fest each year, which take place in February, June, and October. It just happens that the June event tends to line up with things like Summer Game Fest and the big publisher showcases like Xbox, PlayStation, and Ubisoft. There are so many games for you to find, things that you may have never imagined you’d like, and we recommend taking some time to play some of the most promising upcoming titles on PC.
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