Steam Next Fest ended on October 26 after a week of free demos, and Valve has now published which ones the most people tried. Co-op and party games, shopkeeper sims and idle games make up much of the top, while well-known series like Tropico and Stronghold sit further down.
A week of free demos
Next Fest is Valve’s demo event for games that have not launched yet. It takes place three times a year, and this edition ran from October 19 to October 26. More than 7,000 demos were available when it started.
AI was a big problem this year
AI came up more than any other topic around this Next Fest. Several outlets counted the demos that disclose generative AI on their store pages. Their numbers differ, but the reports point to a larger share than in earlier editions.
For players, that makes an event with thousands of demos even harder to browse. Valve has required developers to disclose generative AI since 2024, but Steam has no filter to hide those games, and many players want one. The ranking below does not mark AI disclosures either, so the store pages are the only place to check. We covered it here some days ago.
The top of the list
The order is not random. Valve ranks the demos by how many different players tried them. That makes the first entry the most-played demo, not necessarily the best one, and the list says nothing about how long people kept playing.
Worst Class Ever
In a classroom packed with computer-controlled students, most players are troublemakers trying to blend in while they sneak snacks, pass notes and secretly use their phones. The remaining player is the strict teacher who has to spot them. Steam tags it as an online co-op party game with stealth and social deduction, and it is planned for later this year.
Probably Stolen
Your shop sits on a dystopian space station, and most of what you sell has a questionable origin. In this cyberpunk shopkeeper sim you craft, trade and smuggle, navigate faction loyalties and stop a rampant AI by taking down the people it controls. The aim is to earn enough to buy out the shop before rising rent forces your hand. It launches on October 28, 2026.
Find The Needle
Somewhere in a haystack of millions of strands lies a needle, and all you get is a shovel. You dig by hand, sell the hay and put the money into belts and machines until you no longer have to dig yourself. It is an incremental game, a genre built around upgrades and automation, and it will support multiplayer. Release is planned for later this year.
Fart Together
The name is the premise. Players share a raft that moves on fart power, so direction, timing and the amount of gas have to line up to get through obstacle courses. The physics-based co-op game comes out on October 29, 2026.
ArcheAge Chronicles
With ArcheAge Chronicles, the first role-playing game enters the ranking. It is an open-world MMORPG and action RPG set in a world called Auroria, with fights against monsters and other players and has controller support. The store page addresses newcomers to the setting as well as veterans. No release date has been announced.
Frostrail
At the heart of Frostrail is a steam-powered train that you operate and upgrade on your way through a frozen, corrupted world. Around it, the survival shooter has you explore, scavenge, craft and fight, alone or in co-op. It is planned for later this year.
just volleyball
Simple controls, online and offline play, and matches from one-on-one up to six-on-six: just volleyball keeps its pitch short. According to the store page, there is no right way to play. It comes out on November 4, 2026.
Character House -Desktop Companion-
Character House puts a companion on your desktop. You build it from mix-and-match parts, and it sits on screen while you work, reacting to your keystrokes, or watches from a corner. While you are away it earns rewards, which you use to pull and craft accessories, and you can also shape its personality and visit friends online. The idle game is planned for 2026, without an exact date.
Abyssal Lapidary
Gems are the business in this gothic management sim, set in a Victorian-inspired underground city. You appraise ores, cut stones and craft jewelry for strange clients, and some of the stones stare back. Steam tags it with Lovecraftian and psychological horror. There is no release date yet.
Loftia
Loftia is a cozy multiplayer world where you farm, craft, explore and decorate with other players while working toward a more sustainable future. It comes out on November 3, 2026.
Mortuus
You buy doors, hit the mystery box and upgrade your guns while zombie hordes attack in rounds on a brutalist, procedurally generated map. Behind it all is a hidden ritual that wakes the Mother. The co-op shooter is tagged with horror and gore and comes out on January 11, 2027.
Dumpster Gang
Here you play a gang of raccoons in a co-op sandbox. The missions are ridiculous, the goal is to steal everything you can carry, and an Exterminator wants your gang behind bars. Dumpster Gang comes out on December 3, 2026.
HANDS OVER
Small challenges turn into cruel tests of luck and nerve in this co-op horror game. Players bluff, sabotage each other and try to stay at the table longer than everyone else, and the store tags include card game and gambling. It is due on October 30, 2026.
No Body No Problem!
One player against the rest again. One of you is the cop, and everyone else is a panicked suspect who has to hide a body, clean up the evidence and keep quiet before the cop knocks. If the body is found, everyone loses. Steam lists the game as coming soon.
Haunted Paws
Two puppies set out to rescue their owner from a haunted mansion in this cozy but spooky co-op adventure. You customize your puppy, solve puzzles together and fight evil creatures. It can be played locally, and a Friend’s Pass lets you invite a friend for free. No release date has been announced.
Emberville
Death does not last in the Vitromotus, an underground world built as a magical dungeon. In this pixel-art action RPG you wake up there without memories, then explore, fight, rescue survivors and rebuild the ruined town of Emberville. It launches on October 27, 2026.
Grr Grr Gnomes
Tiny gnomes, a very big ocean and a ship that has to keep moving. The crew sails from island to island, scavenges supplies, fights strange creatures and tries to find the way home. The co-op adventure is due on January 19, 2027.
Meltdown Crew
Together with friends, you keep a barely stable nuclear reactor running. That means fixing broken systems, managing radiation and getting through power outages before everything melts down. The online co-op physics game will be funny and is planned for December 2026.
Wyldheart
Wyldheart tells its co-op fantasy adventure in short campaigns. Your character starts with nothing, and you build it freely as you investigate rumors, explore ruins and survive the dangers facing the fallen Kingdom of Caerwyn. Steam shows no release date yet.
Never Be Alone
A decade after a zombie outbreak, nature has taken the world back. In this open-world survival game, played solo or in co-op, you protect a fragile safe zone and uncover your forgotten past. It comes out on December 8, 2026.
Deadzone Rogue 2
As Talon 13-10, you fight through the endless machines of Monarch on a fallen Earth. The shooter lets you combine weapons, augments and elements, and you get stronger with every run, solo or with friends. Steam lists it as coming soon.
Banana Airways
If the passengers go hungry, they start eating each other. Banana Airways is a comedy co-op game about running an airline with cannibal chickens, radioactive travelers and screaming babies you can throw off the plane. You fly, serve, repair and try to land, alone or with friends. This sounds really crazy. It is planned for early 2027.
ReBlade: The Death Spiral
ReBlade is set in a cyberpunk world inspired by Chinese mythology. You play a condemned Synthetic stuck in endless resets, cutting through mechanical creatures with weapons, chips and augments, and each run is meant to bring you closer to breaking the cycle. Steam tags the action RPG as difficult and Souls-like. No release date has been announced.
Hela: of Mice & Magic
You play a brave little mouse in this 3D co-op adventure, set in landscapes inspired by Northern Sweden. It mixes puzzles with a story about being a force for good, and the tags include wholesome and relaxing. It comes out on December 1, 2026.
Melvor Idle 2
The sequel to Melvor Idle adds deeper mechanics and harder challenges. You master skills, fight and follow quests that reveal the history of the world, all at a calm pace. The single-player idle RPG is planned for 2026, without an exact date.
Unharvest
Unharvest flips farming around. Instead of growing crops, you drain the life from everything around you, infect what grows, upgrade your plagues and wither the world until nothing living is left. The incremental game launches on December 7, 2026.
DREADMOOR
DREADMOOR sends you fishing in a submerged world that is rotting after a catastrophe. From a first-person view you fish in murky water, upgrade your boat, craft survival gear and fight monsters in the water and on land. Tags include Lovecraftian and psychological horror. It comes out on November 9, 2026.
Nekome: Nazi Hunter
This single-player stealth game is set in World War II. You study your enemies, choose your approach and take them out in brutal melee combat, driven by revenge. It is planned for early 2027.
Tropico 7
El Presidente is back. Once again you build an island nation, move mountains and guide your citizens, and your Swiss bank account, through the ages. The city builder comes out on January 28, 2027, and Steam already lists a 10 percent pre-purchase discount at the moment.
Ignite the Depths
Ignite the Depths takes place in a hand-crafted labyrinth, and the enemies are monsters, not other players. You can explore the dark-fantasy dungeon alone or team up with others in co-op. It is planned for 2027.
The last stretch: franchise names and more co-op
Godzilla, Stronghold and Warhammer all show up in this part of the list.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered
This remaster brings back a Godzilla arena brawler. You pick a monster and fight through recreated cities and other locations, against friends in local co-op or in the newly added online multiplayer. It comes out on November 3, 2026.
Rip It! Card Collector
Opening booster packs is the core of this single-player incremental game. You collect cards, sell duplicates and upgrade your gear to pull cards faster until your binder holds every set. It comes out on October 30, 2026.
Carry On Together
You and your friends run a tiny moving company. Lift heavy furniture together, drive the truck across town and try to deliver everything in one piece. The physics-based co-op game comes out on November 6, 2026.
Reshine
Reshine is about cleaning. With a range of tools you remove years of dust and rust from old objects, without management or pressure. Tags include cozy and family friendly. It comes out on November 26, 2026.
Oar’some Adventures
Paddle down a river alone or bring friends along for whitewater mischief. Oar’some Adventures mixes cozy and chaotic rafting with exploring beautiful but dangerous nature. There is no release date yet.
Stronghold 4
The new Stronghold is a narrative prequel to the original castle sim. It brings a cinematic campaign, a skirmish mode with new siege mechanics and plenty of castle pieces and cosmetics. The strategy game comes out on December 7, 2026.
Teach My Little Sister How To Drive
Your sister is behind the wheel on deadly roads, and you are stuck in the passenger seat with nothing but your voice to guide her. The funny, dialogue-heavy driving sim is planned for January 2027.
DEADLINE: Afterlife Processing
Souls queue up, and you process them: read, judge, seal, get paid. If that gets tiring, a catalog sells machines that take over the work. The darkly humorous job sim is planned for early 2027.
Debauchery & Magic
In Haven, magic is everywhere and debauchery is forbidden. With friends you quest, loot, party and battle across the kingdom to defy a ruthless new ruler. It is planned for December 2026.
Warhammer Survivors
Warhammer Survivors comes from the developers of Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun and is billed as the official Warhammer bullet-heaven game, a genre about fending off swarms of enemies. You choose from dozens of champions from Warhammer 40,000 and Age of Sigmar. It comes out on November 10, 2026.
Dude, Trust Me
Three friends, three missing senses. One player goes blind, one deaf and one loses their voice, and no puzzle can be solved alone, so the group has to find ways to understand each other. It comes out on November 30, 2026.
S.O.N.A.R.
The name stands for Submarine Operators Not Actually Ready. Players handle sonar, steering, combat and repairs on a submarine, and according to the store page, one wrong button can sink it. It launches on October 29, 2026, for solo play or groups.
SLAM TANK
You swing your cannon barrel and ram through an AI’s machine army, and the more you wreck, the more you earn. SLAM TANK is a single-player action game, and no release date has been announced.
Ballistic.exe
Presented as a declassified computer program, Ballistic.exe is a detailed shooting simulator with a long list of weapons, cartridges and attachments. The store page promises nothing supernatural. It is planned for 2027.
10 Million Pixels
Somewhere among millions of pixels is a Golden Pixel, and you mine your way toward it. The developers describe the incremental game as one about exploration and erosion, and the tags include mystery and horror. It comes out on November 13, 2026.
Arctic Drive
In the Arctic, your car is the only thing keeping you alive. This co-op survival sim sends you through a procedurally generated winter wilderness, where you find supplies, repair your vehicle and keep moving in search of safety. It comes out on November 25, 2026.
BreathBound
Every breath, step and collision can draw the Corpse King, who hunts by smell and hearing. In this co-op horror game you gather resources, distract threats and rescue each other, and you need to know when to retreat. Steam lists it as coming soon.
Guns ’n Goblins
Waves of monsters come at you in this incremental shooter. You build up your Bastion, level your character and upgrade your arsenal to rise from Apprentice Bell Ringer to Master Dragon Hunter. It is planned for the second quarter of 2027.
What happens next
Some of these demos are still playable, and you can find them on [Steam’s Next Fest page](https://store.steampowered.com/sale/nextfest/). The next Steam Next Fest is planned for February 2027.
