Steam Next Fest is currently in full swing, and developers big and small have released new demos so players can discover their upcoming games. While the event runs through Oct. 26, Valve has already revealed to gamexplore what the 20 most popular demos out of the 8,000+ games featured are. Multiplayer games dominate the list as friendslop continues to pull big numbers on Steam, as do a couple of shopkeeping sims. In descending order, these are the most-played games of Oct. 2026’s crowded Steam Next Fest.
21
Worst Class Ever
20
Developed and published by Funcore Games, Worst Class Ever is a new asymmetrical friendslop game where a team of trouble-making students tries to mess around with the classroom and each other behind the back of the teacher, who is controlled by another player. Over 300,000 people have played this demo, according to Funcore Games, and it’s expected to be released sometime during Q4 2026.
19
Probably Stolen – Cyberpunk Shopkeeper Sim
If you’ve just watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 and are in the mood for more, then this shopkeeping sim from Questing Goose Studio and tinyBuild will probably be of interest to you. The game mixes typical shopkeeping gameplay with elements of games like Papers, Please, as the player has to determine whether or not to do business with the people who show up at their counter. If you like what you play of this one, Probably Stolen launches on Oct. 28.
18
ArcheAge Chronicles
For the fantasy fans out there, ArcheAge Chronicles is an MMORPG from XL Games. While it features all the trappings you’d expect from a game of its ilk, ArcheAge Chronicles features fluid combat closer to Phantom Blade Zero than World of Warcraft. A date for its Steam Early Access launch has not been announced yet.
17
Find the Needle
After Needle In A Haystack Simulator went viral on social media a few weeks ago, many clones emerged. One of those clones, Find the Needle, has found a lot of success during Steam Next Fest. As its title suggests, this is a game where you search for a needle within a haystack made up of six million strands. It’ll be released by FindTheNeedleDev and Needless Games in Q4 2026. No AI disclaimer on this one for now; it just seems to be trend-chasing.
16
Fart Together
Now we’re getting into the good stuff. Fart Together is a physics-based game where players have to work together to navigate hazard-filled levels in their raft using the power of their farts. Need I say more? The wait for this one’s launch isn’t long either, as GamesMrkt’s Fart Together plops onto Steam Early Access on Oct. 29.
15
Character House -Desktop Companion-
Idle games occasionally rocket up the player-count charts on SteamDB, and Character House -Desktop Companion- seems poised to be the next one to do that. Yinengie’s desktop companion game lets you customize and dress up little chibi characters who hang out on your screen and unlock even more accessories while you do other things on your computer. Character House -Desktop Companion- will see a full release before the end of 2026.
14
Frostrail
The next game from Barotrauma developers FakeFish is catching on at Steam Next Fest. Frostrail is a survival FPS where players scavenge for resources, fight monsters, and try to survive while moving through a post-apocalyptic world on a Steam-powered train. Following this demo, Frostrail will enter Steam Early Access sometime before the end of the year.
13
Loftia
Cozy gamers also made their voices heard during Steam Next Fest by making Qloud Games’ Loftia one of the event’s most played demos. It’s a laid-back MMO that takes the life-sim basics from games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons and applies them to larger worlds shared by many players. This should give Loftia some positive momentum as it enters Steam Early Access on Nov. 3.
12
just volleyball
This game from temkosoft is pretty straightforward, as it’s an approachable competitive volleyball game with a cartoonish artstyle and customizable characters. As volleyball is an underserved niche in the sports game space, I can see why just volleyball is catching on ahead of its Nov. 4 launch.
