Steam Next Fest is open to upcoming, unreleased games that meet Valve’s eligibility rules. Your game must have a public Steam store page, a publicly playable demo by the festival’s start, and a Steamworks developer account in good standing. It can participate in only one Next Fest and must not release until that edition has ended.
Eligibility requirements
Your game must satisfy all of these conditions:
- It hasn’t been released yet. The full game cannot already be available for purchase or free download.
- It hasn’t appeared in an earlier Next Fest. Each game may participate in only one edition.
- Its base game store page is public. A published and visible “Coming Soon” page is required before registration.
- It has a playable demo. The demo must be publicly available when the festival begins.
- It won’t launch before the festival ends. You may release after the relevant Next Fest concludes, but not during or before it.
- It isn’t a prologue or shortened version of an existing game. Standalone chapters, previews, or similar versions of a game already released on Steam generally aren’t eligible.
- It belongs to a Steamworks developer account in good standing.
Registration
Register through the base game’s App Landing Page in Steamworks , not through the demo’s page. When the registration option becomes available, you’ll typically select one or two primary genres, submit the form, and confirm that the enrollment indicator appears in your dashboard.
Registration deadlines vary by edition, so check the official Steamworks page for the specific festival you’re targeting. Missing the deadline can prevent an otherwise eligible game from joining that edition.
What the rules don’t require
Valve’s eligibility rules don’t specify a minimum demo length or a fixed full- game release date after Next Fest. The important timing requirement is that the game remains unreleased until the festival concludes.
A short demo can technically qualify, but a stable and representative build is far more useful to players. Test it on supported hardware, remove obvious crashes and blockers, and make sure the store page accurately describes what the demo contains.
Practical checklist
Before registering, confirm that:
- Your Steam store page is public.
- Your demo is uploaded, tested and set to release publicly before the festival starts.
- Your game has never joined a previous Next Fest.
- Your planned launch date is after the event ends.
- Your title isn’t a prologue or preview of an already released Steam game.
- Your Steamworks account is in good standing.
- Your trailer, screenshots, description and tags match the current demo.
Eligibility gets you into the event, but a polished demo and a clear store page will determine how effectively players respond once Next Fest begins.