Steam Next Fest Wraps With 40-Plus PC VR Demos, Including PAYDAY: Aces High

Valve's final Steam Next Fest of 2026 ran from October 19 at 10:00 AM Pacific to October 26 at 10:00 AM Pacific, according to the official Steamworks event page. As usual, the week-long event let players download free demos, watch developer streams and wishlist upcoming games, and VR had a solid presence.

How much VR was there?

UploadVR listed more than 40 PC VR demos based on a list Valve shared ahead of the event, while Road to VR counted 42 VR demos available for download. A handful of entries were flatscreen games with planned VR support, where it was not clear whether the demo itself included VR.

Demos that stood out

• PAYDAY: Aces High, Fast Travel Games' co-op VR heist shooter, which launches on November 5
• RAID VR, a co-op roguelite shooter
• The Rifted Skies, a physically active action roguelite
• Drifters: Blackout Crew and Rustmourne, whose demos were already available before the festival
• Sunstone of Time, an Aztec-themed mystery adventure
• Liminal, which used the event to show a new arena

Road to VR's list also pointed to near-term release dates for several featured games, including MOLY on November 1, Wurst and Glory on November 2 and Pin City in December.

What it means for players

The demo window has closed, but Next Fest is mainly a wishlist drive, and most of the featured games now have store pages where you can follow them. Several land within weeks, so PC VR owners on SteamVR headsets such as the Valve Index, along with buyers of the new Steam Frame, have a busy end of year ahead. Developers can join only one Next Fest per game, so titles that appeared here will not return in a future edition.