The final week of February will see Valve’s latest Steam Next Fest, which will take place on the dates announced today. The Next Fest is a digital exhibition for forthcoming games on Steam, particularly those from independent creators, much like previous ones. Valve has hosted a number of indie game festivals on Steam, and most of them follow a similar structure. This week, Steam is offering hundreds of demonstrations of new and soon-to-be-released titles from all around the platform.
Livestreams from the games’ developers accompany these events, allowing players to ask questions and learn more about the games they’re interested in. For example, some of these events are dedicated to a single type of game, such as strategy or role-playing. Those that are more generic, such as the Steam Next Fest that was held in October, include a wide range of games in their demos. Steam Next Fest is returning to the platform at the end of this month, Valve has said in a brief release. There will be an eight-day celebration of forthcoming games starting on February 21st and lasting through February 28th at 10 AM Pacific Time.
More than a hundred free samples for new and upcoming independent titles will be available at this year’s event. Throughout the week, developers will be streaming their games on their store pages and taking questions from the public. Users will be able to check out the current Livestream and the best demonstrations during Steam Next Fest’s last week in February on its own page.
However, previous independent game fests on Steam have been criticised for having an excessive number of demos to sort through. With the addition of the option to filter demos by genre and subsequently by sub-genres and tags, Valve has at least partially addressed this issue. Indie creators can benefit greatly from showcases like this, particularly on a platform as large as Steam. New independent games might easily get lost in the shuffle if they aren’t well-known.
It’s also worth noting that several independent developers have criticised Steam and the way Valve administers the platform. There is little hope for demos that aren’t already prominently shown on the event’s main page, and only the most popular demos are given the opportunity to be seen by everyone. As a result of Steam’s algorithm, which only recommends games that it believes the user will enjoy, lesser-known titles are sometimes overlooked. It’s a good idea, but Valve should do a lot more to help indie creators through Steam Next Fest.