Steam Next Fest Kicks Off Oct. 1; Free Games To Play, Other Event Details Announced

A few days ago, American video game company Valve announced that the much-awaited Steam Next Fest, formerly known as the Steam game Festival, is happening in the first week of October and will allow gamers to get their hands on a plethora of upcoming PC titles.

The week-long Steam Next Fest event will start from 10 a.m. PT or 1 p.m. ET on Oct. 1 until Oct. 7, according to Valve. During the event, gamers can enjoy playing free game demos, view game previews, talk to developers and provide feedback on new titles.

Valve also dropped a promotional teaser, showcasing glimpses of multiple games fans can expect to play during the Steam Next Fest. This includes titles like "Airhead," "Unexplored 2: The Wayfarer's Legacy," "ANNO: Mutationem," "Mahokenshi," "Starship Troopers— Terran Command" and "Life of Delta."

"Explore the latest from veteran devs and first-timers alike," the brief promotional video says. Not all of these games have fixed release date, but all the games previewed during the Next Steam Fest have a launch date between Oct. 7, 2021, and May 1, 2022.

So, if it is anything to go by, gamers can expect these games to be available in the world's most popular PC games storefront within this year and the early part of 2022. Valve confirmed on the official notification of the upcoming event that it had closed slots for demos since Aug. 15, 2021.

Game developers interested in having their demos featured in the next Steam event will have to wait a little longer since the company has not yet announced when it plans to receive the next set of game previews. It will be at least a couple of months before Valve holds another Steam Next Fest after the event ends in October.

The American video game company has been having this kind of event for PC gamers every few months to fill in-person events like this because of the current pandemic.

The event was initially called Steam Game Fest, but Valve changed the name to Steam Next Fest in June 2021. An event such as this is a great medium for game developers not only to showcase their upcoming titles but also to get feedback from gamers.