There we have it! Another Steam Next Fest has arrived. Which means my BestNerdLife inbox has been filling up with “Steam Next Fest October 2026” emails. During the run-up to past events, I’ve had plenty of emails from various PR representatives. This time, however, I’ve had more emails from individual studios or developers who maybe don’t have so much representation. If you want to see my previous article about Steam Next Fest June 2026, click here.
Demo for me, demo for you!
As ever, there are plenty of demos live on Steam for everyone to try out. Wading through 1,000s of demos can be pretty intense though, which is hopefully where I can help. The idea is simple. I list every game taking part that I’ve been emailed about. I can’t vouch for the overall quality of any game demos on this list. At least they are all free though. In future, I may have to be more selective with the games I list. Depends how many emails I get in the future. Right now though, here’s everything!
*TAKES A DEEP BREATH*
- 99 NIGHTS IN THE APOCALYPSE
- Beyond the Plastic Wall
- Bloom Busters
- Dead Party
- Deadstick – Bush Pilot Simulator
- Dinghai: The Ocean Pillar
- Ecstatica 1
- Ecstatica 2
- Edenfall: Legacy of the First Wardens
- Football Academy Simulator
- Foxy Dumplings
- Gear Up Einstein!
- Golden Retriever Simple Life
- Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered
- Grindworm
- Hellmate – Chess Deck Builder
- Heritage Flipper
- Hope Timbre
- Island Miner
- The Journey Home
- Just Chessing Around
- Killing Things With Your Friends
- Knuckle Paradise
- Lelu
- Love: Fall in Death
- Magic Cards Duel
- Matelotes
- Me & You
- Midnight Horde
- Moonbrella
- Mr. Records
- MyDear.exe
- Neuron Activation
- Night Plane
- Nocturnal Visitors: Book 1
- On the Rocks
- PASTDARK
- PAYDAY: Aces High
- Pig King
- Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor
- Portentum
- The Regreening
- R.O.G.U.E. Waves
- RUIN: Beast City
- RUNZ
- Rhythm Hotel
- Seferia: Matrix
- Sheep Happens
- Sil and the Fading World
- Silk Collector: Tidy Up the Clothing Store!
- STIP
- Tattie Bogle
- Teamcrafter
- Terrible Lizards
- Tom the Postgirl
- Venture Pals
- Voivod: The Nuclear Warrior
- Winter Whiskers
- Wishknot
My top picks
Well, that’s probably my biggest list yet! Quite a few of them have really jumped out at me. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered is obviously a big one. Grindworm, Night Plane, and Terrible Lizards look like some fun horror games to look out for. I also really like the look of Knuckle Paradise, The Regreening, R.O.G.U.E. Waves, and Winter Whiskers.
Don’t forget, the above is just a small selection of what is available to download during Steam Next Fest October 2026. At the very least, this article will give you somewhere to start when it comes to shifting through the mountains of demos that are available to play! If you want to check out the entire collection of game demos, check out the main Steam Next Fest page!
