Steam Next Fest · 19–26 October 2026

Is your Steam page ready for Next Fest?

Thousands of demos launch together, and shoppers decide in seconds. Paste your Steam link for a free page check: a score out of 100, your top 3 fixes and a rewritten short description in about 30 seconds.

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Steam Next Fest dates 2026

Next Fest runs three times a year, in February, June and October. Dates and deadlines from Valve's Steamworks docs (times are Pacific; 10am PDT is 6pm UK time in October).

EditionDatesKey deadlines
October 202619 Oct, 10am PDT – 26 Oct 2026, 10am PDTPress preview started 8 Oct. Set your demo live before 10am PDT on 19 Oct. Wrap-up of most-played demos launches 26 Oct.
February 202722 Feb, 10am PST – 1 Mar 2027, 10am PST25 Jan: submit demo and store page for review to be in the press preview. 8 Feb: all required items submitted. 11 Feb: press preview starts.

Sources: Steamworks: Next Fest October 2026 · Steamworks: Next Fest February 2027. A game can only take part in one Next Fest.

The 6-point Next Fest checklist

Capsule readable at 120px

Thousands of demos sit side by side. If your logo blurs at thumbnail size, people scroll past.

Genre in the first line

Your short description should say what the game is and what the player does, in plain words.

Gameplay in the first seconds of the trailer

Lots of viewers autoplay it muted. Skip the studio logo.

Demo button and wishlist ask

Make sure the demo is live, then ask for the wishlist at the end of the demo.

Screenshots: your best 4 first

The first four cycle in the hover tooltip. Use real gameplay, no text overlays.

All 20 tags, specific first

Lead with real sub-genres so Steam places you next to the right games during the fest.

Want the full teardown? Deep Audit, £29

Every category in depth, capsule, screenshots, trailer, tags and reviews analysis, a side-by-side comparison with similar Steam games and a 30-day action plan. Delivered in minutes, so you can fix things before the fest.

Next edition: February 2027. WishlistLab Pro re-audits your page automatically before every Next Fest and compares it with similar games.

Quick checks before the fest: capsule size checker · short description counter · tag checker · screenshot & trailer checker