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Topics: Steam, Indie Games, PC
Steam gamers may want to keep their eye on the store later this month, as hundreds of free game demos will be going live later this month.
Several times a year, Valve runs Steam Next Fest as a way to get eyes on upcoming games and developer showcases.
Steam Next Fest usually always features hundreds of games getting free demos for players to enjoy, offering bite-size hands-on with many upcoming AA and indie games.
The first Steam Next Fest of the year usually lands in February, and this year is no exception. Steam Next Fest will begin on 23 February 2026, running until 2 March.
“Play free demos of games that haven’t even launched yet,” reads the official teaser for the event by Valve. “Explore upcoming titles of every genre, interact with the developers behind them, and wishlist your faves.”
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In addition to free game demos, Steam Next Fest also features special developer spotlights on the front page of the store, as well as livestreams of games included in the festival.
If you’re interested in checking it out, you can sign up for a reminder when it gets closer to the date, giving you a heads-up when the event goes live.
Altogether, it'll be a great chance to play anything on your wishlist that you may be looking forward to, or otherwise finding more games to add to your wishlist ahead of release.
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Meanwhile, other events and sales are due to take place throughout the year.
At the moment, Steam is running PvP Fest, featuring deals and spotlights on multiplayer games with a large competitive angle.
In the next month, we also have Steam Horse Fest and Tower Defense Fest running in February and March, alongside the Next Fest. After this, the Steam Spring Sale launches on 19 March.
We also have the dates for other upcoming bigger sales events later on in the year. The infamous Steam Summer Sale launches on 25 June until 9 July, while the Autumn Sale lasts from 1 October through to the 8th.
Finally, we have the confirmed date for the Winter Sale on Steam, which typically runs over the Christmas period. It’ll last from 17 December 2026 until 4 January 2027.