Steam Next Fest October 2026: Dates, Times and 15 Demos

We have not played these demos. Game details come from Steam store pages and developer posts; event details come from Valve's Steamworks documentation.

TL;DR: Next Fest runs October 19 to October 26, both at 10:00 AM PDT (17:00 UTC). Seven of our 15 picks already have a demo live. Curse of Resthaven is the first to launch, on October 29. There is no official livestream, and the next fest is planned for February 2027.

When is Steam Next Fest October 2026? (quick answer)

Steam Next Fest October 2026 starts on Monday, October 19 at 10:00 AM PDT and ends on Monday, October 26 at 10:00 AM PDT. That is 17:00 UTC on both days. In the UK the fest starts at 6:00 PM BST but ends at 5:00 PM GMT, because clocks go back on October 25.

Key Takeaways

• The fest runs October 19 to 26, starting and ending at 10:00 AM PDT.
• Press preview began on October 8, so several demos are already live.
• Valve publishes a wrap-up of the most-played demos on October 26.
• Every participating game must launch after October 26, 2026, and each game only gets one Next Fest.
• Of our 15 picks, the earliest launch is Curse of Resthaven on October 29, 2026.

Overview: Steam Next Fest October 2026 start and end times

According to Valve's Steamworks page, "the october 2026 edition runs october 19 at 10:00 am pdt (utc-7) to october 26 at 10:00 am pdt (utc-7)." Here is that window converted. We did the conversions ourselves; note the UK and EU clock change on October 25.

Some studios have posted their own times. Loftia's demo goes live "October 19th at 1pm EDT," which lines up with the start. Never Wither's studio says its demo arrives "on October 20," a day late, without a time.

How Next Fest works this time

Valve describes Next Fest as a week where "fans can try out demos, chat with developers, watch live streams, and learn about upcoming games on steam." A few rules shape what you see:

• No official livestream. As of the October 2024 edition, "there is no more official livestream." Developer streams are still allowed, and they now sit in their own tab.
• Everything is unreleased. Games must include "a publicly playable demo by the time the festival begins" and launch after October 26, 2026.
• One shot per game. "Titles are only allowed to participate in one next fest," so a game you see here will not return in February.
• A wrap-up list. On October 26, Valve launches a wrap-up "featuring games with the most played demos of the fest."

Whether demos stay playable after the fest is up to each developer. Our guide to Next Fest demo expiry explains Valve's rules.

Demos you can play right now

Press preview started on October 8, and several studios opened their demos to everyone at or before that point. Seven of our 15 picks are already playable:

• Keelblade: pirate survival RPG, demo out October 8.
• Arctic Drive: co-op road-trip survival, demo out October 8.
• BLIGHTEN: retro survival-horror shooter, demo out July 6.
• Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game: horror deckbuilder, new demo out October 5.
• Deeper: co-op underwater horror, demo out since May.
• Lurking: giant-spider horror, demo out August 20.
• Curse of Resthaven: narrative roguelite, expanded demo out October 8.

Screenshot: Keelblade Steam store page

Several of these get a bigger build for the fest itself. Our horror games guide covers which updates are coming, and the survival games guide covers Keelblade and Arctic Drive.

The 15 Next Fest demos we picked

We built three shortlists from Steam's genre tags and wishlist rankings, keeping only games whose developer has confirmed the October fest. Each guide has the full details.

Screenshot: Meltdown Crew Steam store page

GODEEPER: Playing with friends? Steam Next Fest Co-op Demos: 5 to Play in October 2026 →

Which Next Fest games launch soonest

If you only want demos for games you can buy this year, sort by date. Curse of Resthaven "will launch for PC and Mac on October 29, 2026," and its studio says demo progress carries over. Inside Job enters Early Access on November 2, and its LAST COUNT mode for 2 to 10 players "is free in the Inside Job demo until Early Access starts on November 2." Loftia follows on November 3, and its demo progress also carries into Early Access. Then come Arctic Drive on November 25 and Never Be Alone on December 8, with Meltdown Crew listed for December 2026.

Official trailer from the Rafiq Studios YouTube channel.

On r/loftia, the carry-over is what players noticed first: "Love that progress made in the demo will carry over into early access!"

Screenshot: Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game Steam store page

Analysis: how to plan your Next Fest week

Use the days before October 19 for the seven demos that are already live, since they will not compete with the opening-day rush. Then spend the first weekend on the demos that only open with the fest: Frostrail, Meltdown Crew, Inside Job, We Are So Cooked, Loftia, Never Be Alone and the new No Mortal Space build.

Watch the saves. Curse of Resthaven, Loftia and Lurking (after its fest update) all carry demo progress forward. No Mortal Space goes the other way: its new demo "will not be compatible with save files from the current Demo." For a sense of which demos broke out last time, see our June 2026 Next Fest roundup.

Screenshot: Deeper Steam store page

GODEEPER: Looking for something scary before Halloween? Steam Next Fest Horror Games: 5 Demos for October 2026 →

Our take

This edition favours players who plan ahead. Seven demos on our list are already live, three of the games launch within two weeks of the fest, and the week ends just before Halloween. In June our most-read single-demo page was a co-op game, which is one reason co-op gets its own guide this time. We will follow up with the most-played list once Valve publishes its wrap-up on October 26.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Steam Next Fest October 2026 start and end? It starts on October 19 at 10:00 AM PDT (1:00 PM EDT, 17:00 UTC, 6:00 PM BST) and ends on October 26 at 10:00 AM PDT (17:00 UTC, 5:00 PM GMT). The UK end time is an hour earlier than the start because clocks change on October 25.

Can I play Next Fest demos before October 19? Some, yes. Keelblade, Arctic Drive, BLIGHTEN, Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game, Deeper, Lurking and Curse of Resthaven already have demos on Steam. Others, like Frostrail and Loftia, open with the fest.

Is there an official Steam Next Fest livestream? No. Valve dropped the official livestream from the October 2024 edition onward. Developers can still stream their own games, and those streams sit in a separate tab of the event page.

Which Next Fest games come out first? From our list of 15, Curse of Resthaven launches first on October 29, 2026. Inside Job follows on November 2 and Loftia on November 3, both in Early Access.

When is the next Steam Next Fest after October 2026? Valve's Steamworks page says the next edition is planned for February 2027.

Related Reading

• Steam Next Fest Survival Games: 5 Demos for October 2026: Frostrail, Never Wither, Keelblade, No Mortal Space and Arctic Drive.
• Steam Next Fest Co-op Demos: 5 to Play in October 2026: Meltdown Crew, Inside Job, We Are So Cooked, Loftia and Never Be Alone.
• Steam Next Fest Horror Games: 5 Demos for October 2026: BLIGHTEN, Mr Magpie, Deeper, Lurking and Curse of Resthaven.
• Tears of Metal: Co-op Roguelike Next Fest Demo: our most-read demo page from June.
• Best Co-op Games for September 2026: co-op games you can buy now.

References

• Steamworks: Steam Next Fest October 2026: dates, eligibility, changes since 2024 and the next edition, accessed 2026-10-12.
• Keelblade on Steam, Arctic Drive on Steam, BLIGHTEN on Steam, Lurking on Steam: demo dates.
• Mr Magpie's Harmless Card Game on Steam and Deeper on Steam: demo status.
• Curse of Resthaven Steam news: release date and demo carry-over.
• Inside Job Steam news and Loftia Steam news: Early Access dates and demo plans.
• Never Wither Steam news and No Mortal Space Steam news: demo dates and save notes.
• r/loftia: Loftia is coming to Steam Next Fest with a free demo
• Inside Job Official Trailer on YouTube