When the next Steam Next Fest is
Valve runs Next Fest three times a year, in February, June and October, and each edition runs for one week1. The next one runs February 22 to March 1, 20272, and the one after that June 14 to 21, 20273. Valve names October 2027 as the edition after June but has not published its dates yet3.
These are the dates each edition page on Steamworks gives, all in Pacific time. Plan against the deadlines below rather than the start date, because every one of them falls weeks before the Fest opens.
February 2027: registration closes January 10, 2027 at 11:59 PM PST2.
February 2027: submit the demo and store page for review by January 18 to be live for Press Preview, and every required item by February 1 at the latest2.
February 2027: Press Preview opens February 11 and the Fest itself runs February 22 to March 1, 2027, starting and ending at 10:00 AM PST2.
June 2027: registration closes April 25, 2027 at 11:59 PM PDT3.
June 2027: submit the demo and store page for review by May 10 to be live for Press Preview, and every required item by May 24 at the latest3.
June 2027: Press Preview opens June 3 and the Fest itself runs June 14 to 21, 2027, starting and ending at 10:00 AM PDT3.
The deadlines that actually bind you
The registration form is not the hard part. The demo build has to pass Steam review, and that review is what you can miss. The pattern is the same in every edition, measured back from the start date.
Five weeks before the Fest: submit your demo for review if you plan to have it live before Press Preview1.
Three weeks before the Fest: submit your demo for review if you only need it live by the start of Next Fest1.
Eleven days before the start: Press Preview begins and press get an early look at participating titles. Your demo should be live by then to be part of that coverage1.
Before registration closes: your base game store page needs at least one publicly visible trailer1.
Thirty minutes before the start, at the latest: Valve strongly encourages having the demo actually live by then1.
Whether your game is eligible
Most of the eligibility rules are permanent facts about the game rather than things you can fix in the week before.
The title has not previously joined a Next Fest. Participation is limited to ONE edition, ever1.
The game will not be released before the edition concludes1.
The base game store page is published and public1.
The game is not a prologue, preview or short-form version of something already released on Steam1.
The Steamworks developer account is in good standing1.
How the week runs once it starts
Registration asks you to choose the one or two primary genres that best fit your base game, and Steam sorts your title using that selection together with your Steam Tags1. This is not optional decoration: a game with no categories selected will not be displayed during the event5.
Placement changes partway through. The first few days are completely randomized everywhere except explicitly named lists and personalized segments, which run off the player's own play behaviour. After a few days, logged-in users start seeing the carousels ordered by an algorithm instead1. So the visibility you get in the back half of the week is earned by how players behaved with your demo in the front half, which is the practical argument for having it live and polished at the start rather than patching into the event.
One thing the rules do not constrain is your release date. There are no requirements about when the game launches, so long as it is after Next Fest ends1.
How to register a game for Steam Next Fest
- Confirm the game is eligible. Check that the title has never joined a previous Next Fest, is not a prologue or short-form version of a released game, and will not release before the edition ends.
- Publish the store page and a trailer. The base game store page has to be published and public, with at least one publicly visible trailer on it before registration closes.
- Pick the edition and register. Register through Steamworks for the edition you want: by January 10, 2027 for February 2027, or by April 25, 2027 for June 2027. A title only gets one Next Fest ever, so choose the edition deliberately rather than joining the next one that happens to be open.
- Select one or two categories. Choose the primary genres that fit the base game. Steam sorts your title using those plus your Steam Tags, and a game with none selected is not shown during the event.
- Submit the demo for review in time. Submit five weeks before the Fest to be live for Press Preview, or three weeks before to be live for the start. Leave room to act on review feedback.
- Set the demo live before the event opens. Have the demo publicly playable at least thirty minutes before Next Fest starts, and ideally by the Press Preview date eleven days out.
