Throughout 2020, Steam users have been treated to a number of Game Festival events that have provided them with plenty of free demos, and by this point, it’s clear that they’re not going away anytime soon. In fact, the Steam Game Festival will be returning in October, and future events are already being planned for next year.
It’s easy to see why these have become so popular. The slate of demos that make up the seasonal events offer developers a prominent platform to showcase their works, and give players a chance to try out games that would normally fly under their radar. Most recently, the summer Steam Game Festival highlighted plenty of promising games, and this fall’s installment will likely have more to share.
However, there’s been a question hanging over the recent announcement of the next event. At the time, Valve suggested that it will host more festivals in 2021, but it didn’t say when exactly. That changed this week, when Valve designer Alden Kroll revealed on Twitter that two events are currently planned for next year, with one taking place in February and the other in June.
Besides letting people try out games on Steam for free, the Steam Game Festivals have provided indie developers with a means to market their games in the absence of the regular conventions that have been cancelled because of COVID-19. While it remains to be seen if they’ll be back in 2021, it’s good to know that smaller studios will have a way to make their titles more visible either way.
The Steam Game Festival: Autumn Edition will run from October 7 through 13, and submissions are open until August 26.