Steam Next Fest can flood your store page with traffic you'd never get otherwise. But if you show up unprepared, that traffic just bounces. I've put together this checklist from watching dozens of indie devs go through the process -- what worked, what didn't, and what they wished they'd done differently.
What is Steam Next Fest?
Steam Next Fest is a week-long event for upcoming games where developers put up playable demos and host livestreams. It runs three times per year (February, June, and October).
For a lot of indie devs, Next Fest is their biggest visibility spike before launch. Some games have pulled in tens of thousands of wishlists during a single fest. That doesn't happen by accident, though. The Steam algorithm heavily rewards engagement signals during these events, so showing up ready makes a real difference.
4 weeks before: foundation work
Verify your eligibility
Your game needs to be unreleased with a Coming Soon page active. If you haven't set yours up yet, our Coming Soon page guide walks through everything you need. Register for the fest through Steamworks before the deadline (usually 3-4 weeks before the event). Miss this deadline and you're out -- no exceptions.
Optimize your store page
Next Fest will send a wave of traffic to your store page. You want that page converting before the traffic arrives, not after. Start with your capsule images -- they're the first thing players see when browsing the fest, so they need to be polished and immediately readable at small sizes. Run yours through our free Capsule Validator and read the capsule design guide if you need a refresh.
Your short description should hook readers in the first sentence. The Steam description writing guide has specific formulas that work well for this. Screenshots need to show actual gameplay, not just cinematics -- the screenshot optimization guide covers how to frame and annotate them so they sell your game at a glance. You can also run them through our Screenshot Checker to catch common problems.
Make sure your tags are accurate and strategic. Good tagging directly affects how players discover your demo during the fest, and our guide on best Steam tags explains which ones actually drive traffic. Use the Tag Optimizer to compare your tags against top performers in your genre. Finally, your trailer should show real gameplay and hook viewers in the first five seconds -- our trailer best practices guide breaks down what works.
For a full audit, check our Steam store page optimization guide and run your page through the Steam Page Analyzer before the fest starts.
Build your demo
Your demo is your main conversion tool. Show your best content, not necessarily your first level -- if your game gets good in hour two, pull something from hour two. Aim for 20-40 minutes of play: long enough to hook someone, short enough that they actually finish. End at a moment that makes players want more, and include a wishlist prompt on the end screen. That prompt alone can meaningfully boost your wishlist conversion rates.
And yes, it should run without game-breaking bugs. Obvious, but you'd be surprised.
Set up analytics
You want to know how your demo actually performs. Track demo downloads, completion rates, time played, and wishlist conversions at minimum. Steam gives you some analytics, but in-game telemetry will tell you a lot more about where players drop off and what they're actually doing.
2 weeks before: polish and prepare
Test your demo thoroughly
Get people who haven't seen your game to play the demo. Watch for confusion about controls or objectives, moments where players get stuck, technical issues on different hardware, and pacing problems. Is it too slow? Too rushed? Fix the blockers now. Note the smaller stuff for later.
Plan your livestreams
Next Fest rewards developers who livestream -- you get better placement in the event page. Plan multiple streams during the week and mix up the formats: pure gameplay, behind-the-scenes development, Q&A sessions, speedrun challenges, whatever fits your game. Schedule streams at different times to catch different time zones, and post the schedule ahead of time so people can plan around it.
Prepare marketing materials
Line these up before the fest starts so you're not scrambling. You'll need a press kit with assets and key information, social media posts for each day of the fest, community announcements, an email to your mailing list, and outreach templates for streamers and press. Having all of this queued up means you can spend the actual fest week engaging with players instead of making graphics at 2 AM.
Connect with other developers
Find other games in your genre that are also in the fest. Cross-promote each other. This is one of the most underused tactics -- players browsing similar games are exactly who you want to reach.
1 week before: final prep
Update your Coming Soon page
Mention that a demo will be available during Next Fest. Some visitors will wishlist now and come back for the demo. If your page could use a refresh, our Coming Soon page guide covers what to prioritize.
Brief your community
Tell your existing followers what's coming and give them specific ways to help: play the demo and wishlist, share their experience on social media, provide feedback, and watch your livestreams. People want to support you -- just make it easy for them.
Test everything one more time
Download your demo on a clean install and play through it. Make sure it installs correctly, all features work, performance is acceptable, and the wishlist prompt appears properly. This is the kind of thing that feels redundant until it catches a problem.
Prepare for support volume
You'll get more bug reports, questions, and feedback than you're used to. Draft some response templates for the issues you expect to come up, and decide in advance how quickly you'll try to respond. Our review management guide has useful frameworks for handling feedback at scale -- the same principles apply to demo feedback.
During the fest: execution
The first 24 hours matter most
The Steam algorithm favors games that get traction early. Front-load your marketing push: announce everywhere immediately when the fest goes live, schedule your first livestream early, be highly responsive to feedback, and monitor your demo for any issues. The discovery queue is how most players find demos during the fest, and strong early engagement helps you show up there more often.
Livestream consistently
Stream at least once per day if you can. Mix up the format between pure gameplay, development commentary, community requests and Q&A, and highlight reels of community moments. Pin your stream schedule to your store page so visitors know when to come back.
Respond to feedback
Bug reports, suggestions, comments -- respond to as many as you can during the fest. Players who feel heard are far more likely to wishlist. And honestly, a lot of the feedback you get during Next Fest is stuff you wouldn't catch on your own.
Monitor and adapt
Check your numbers daily. Are demo downloads trending up or down? What's your wishlist conversion rate? What feedback themes keep coming up? If something isn't working, change it. If a particular angle is getting traction, do more of that.
Cross-promote
Share other games you've been enjoying during the fest. Most developers will return the favor. It's a genuinely nice thing to do and it works.
After the fest: follow through
Send a thank you update
Post a Steam announcement thanking people who played your demo. Share key statistics like player counts and completion rates, what you learned from feedback, and what's next for development. Transparency builds trust, and trust converts to wishlists.
Analyze your performance
Dig into your analytics: total demo downloads, wishlist conversion rate, where traffic came from, and what content resonated. Write this stuff down. You'll want it for your next fest or your launch. Compare your numbers against the wishlist conversion benchmarks to see where you stand.
Address feedback
Go through the feedback you collected and sort it by how often it came up and how much it would improve the game. Let people know which issues you're working on -- players really appreciate that.
Maintain momentum
Whatever you do, don't go silent after the fest. Keep your new wishlisters engaged with regular development updates, behind-the-scenes content, and community events. These people just played your game. Don't let that connection go cold before launch.
If you haven't nailed down your release timing yet, our guide on best Steam launch dates can help you pick a window that doesn't collide with major releases. And if you're still figuring out pricing, the Steam pricing strategy guide is worth reading before you commit to a number.
Key metrics to target
Based on what I've seen from successful Next Fest runs:
- •Demo downloads: 5,000+ is solid, 20,000+ is excellent
- •Wishlist conversion: 15-25% of demo players should wishlist
- •Completion rate: 40-60% is healthy (lower if demo is long)
- •Average playtime: Should be 70%+ of your expected demo length
Frequently asked questions
Should I keep my demo up after Next Fest ends?
It depends on your game and timeline. Keeping it up means a slow trickle of wishlists over time, but it also means players might feel like they've "tried it already" when you launch. I'd lean toward leaving it up if your launch is more than three months out, and pulling it down a few weeks before launch to build anticipation. Check the wishlist conversion rates guide for data on how demo availability affects long-term conversions.
How many wishlists should I expect from Next Fest?
It varies wildly. A well-optimized page with a strong demo can pull 5,000-30,000 wishlists. Most games land somewhere in the 2,000-8,000 range. The biggest factor isn't your game's quality alone -- it's how well your store page converts the traffic the fest sends you.
Can I participate in multiple Next Fests?
Yes, but Valve limits you to two Next Fests per game. Make them count. If your first fest goes poorly, use the feedback to overhaul your demo and store page before the second one. The capsule design guide and description writing guide are good starting points for a page overhaul.
When should I start preparing for Next Fest?
Four weeks is the minimum. Six to eight weeks is better, especially if your store page still needs work. Use our Next Fest Prep Tool for a live countdown timer and task tracker so nothing falls through the cracks.
Use our Steam Sale Calendar to see when the next Steam Next Fest is happening, and check out the interactive Next Fest Prep Tool for a live countdown timer and exportable checklist. If your store page needs work before the fest, run it through the Steam Page Analyzer or read the store page optimization guide.
Browse our genre-specific optimization guides for strategies tailored to your game type, and check the Steam Page Leaderboard to see how top games optimize their store pages.