Steam Next Fest is back and you've once again got just 7 days to find your favorite demos among hundreds of choices

Phonopolis key art (cropped) — (Image credit: Amanita Design)

If you've been on the hunt for a new game to play, then my friend, your problem is solved—at least for a week. Because this is the week of the Steam Next Fest, the week-long extravaganza of way more game demos than any single person could get through in seven short days.

You probably know the drill by now, but if you're just dipping your feet into the great, warm ocean that is PC gaming, it's simple: Every so often, Steam puts the spotlight on upcoming games by giving players seven days to power through about a million game demos ("hundreds," Steam says, but it always feels like a lot more than that).

Steam Next Fest - February 2026 Edition: Official Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

But it's all free, both financially and in terms of commitment, which makes it a great time to dive into titles or genres you might otherwise not be too sure about.

It can also be a little overwhelming, so if you feel like you could use a nudge, here are some demos we'll be looking at (and talking about) over the week:

Prime Monster - A "card-based political roguelike" that asks, what if our political leaders were literal monsters, rather than the figurative kind?
All Will Rise - a narrative deck-builder about seeking justice for a murdered god in a world that's all too real.
Vampire Crawlers - A card-based dungeon crawler from the guy who did Vampire Survivors.
The Last Gas Station - Build your business as the owner of one of one of the last gas stations in an electrified world. Also, you're a red panda.
Windrose - An open-world PvE pirate survival game with "soulslite combat" and challenging bosses, and hopefully plentiful sea shanties.
Tap Tap Loot - Have you ever thought to yourself that Bongo Cat would be cooler if he went out and kicked ass? Try this.
Phonopolis - A new adventure from Amanita Design? Sign me up.
Titanium Court - PC Gamer's Wes Fenlon called this one the "first must-play demo" of the Next Fest, even though it dropped before the Next Fest started. Clearly he feels very strongly about it, and that makes it worth a look.

There's a lot more than just that, honestly I just pulled the first handful that the rest of the PC Gamer team are trying out, but if I tried to cite everything we've got cooking up—which, as I said, represents only a small slice of the total number of demos in the Next Fest—we'd be here all day.

So tee up what you think looks cool, keep your eyes open for what we think looks cool (we'll be covering different demos throughout the week) and don't dawdle—the latest Steam Next Fest runs from now until March 2.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.