Popular Steam Games During Next Fest

June 2025’s edition of Steam Next Fest marked another significant expansion for the event. With over 2,600 PC game demos featured, the number of participating titles more than doubled compared to June 2023, which hosted around 900 demos. This rapid growth highlights the increasing interest from developers in showcasing their games and building early community interest through the festival. Despite the challenges in tracking exact demo counts—due to last-minute dropouts and disqualified entries—the overall trend points to continued enthusiasm and participation from across the industry.

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Most popular games during Steam Next Fest:

1. Stellar Blade
2. Dispatch
3. No, I’m Not A Human
4. Dead As Disco
5. Ball X Pit
6. Ratatan
7. Vindictus: Defying Fate
8. Jump Ship
9. Pioner
10. Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive
11. Mina The Hollower
12. Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound
13. Wildgate
14. Mimesis
15. Morbid Metal
16. Moonlighter 2
17. Voyagers Of Nera
18. Anvil Empires
19. Grand Emprise 2
20. UFL
21. Ferocious
22. Hell Is Us
23. Lost Rift
24. Starlight Re:Volver
25. Escape From Duckov
26. Backseat Drivers
27. CloverPit

Wishlists, Followers, and Concurrent Users

GameDiscoverCo provided a detailed breakdown of the most successful demos based on several key performance indicators, including wishlist additions, follower growth, and concurrent users. While wishlist-based rankings are slightly delayed due to processing time, they still offer valuable insights into general interest levels. According to this metric, several games performed strongly, including Vindictus: Defying Fate, Dispatch, and No, I’m Not A Human. Other notable titles included Jump Ship, a co-op FPS, and Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive, an ARPG tied to the popular webtoon franchise.

Concurrent user data presented a slightly different picture, favoring games that encouraged longer play sessions. Vindictus also topped this list, reinforcing its broad appeal. Other games with high concurrent user counts included Wildgate, the medieval MMO Anvil Empires, and the free-to-play soccer title UFL. These games appeared to benefit from gameplay that supported extended playtime, leading to greater CCU overlap.

Follower increase data largely mirrored wishlist trends, though it introduced a few additional titles not previously covered in other metrics. Ferocious, a dinosaur-themed FPS survival game, and the horror adventure Hell Is Us were among the games that saw strong follower growth during the festival. The survival crafter Lost Rift also recorded significant gains.

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Noteworthy Games Across Genres

The variety of top-performing games by genre reflects the breadth of content offered during the event. Some of the more unique entries among the most wishlisted included Dispatch, described as a superhero workplace comedy, and Dead As Disco, a rhythm-based brawler. No, I’m Not A Human stood out with its unsettling horror premise, while Ball X Pit offered a twist on roguelike mechanics through a brick-breaking format. Patapon-inspired rhythm roguelike Ratatan also secured a place in the top 10, indicating interest in rhythm-based gameplay experiences.

More traditional games also performed well. In addition to Vindictus and Solo Leveling, titles like Pioner—a multiplayer FPS with survival elements—and Jump Ship showcased familiar gameplay styles with refined execution. These games attracted attention from players looking for established genres with polished mechanics.

The broader top 30 included a wide range of game types. Mina The Hollower, from the creators of Shovel Knight, and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, from the Blasphemous team, offered strong 2D pixel-art experiences. Meanwhile, co-op and multiplayer-focused games such as Wildgate and Mimesis catered to players interested in collaborative gameplay. Ubisoft's hack-and-slash entry Morbid Metal also gained visibility, suggesting ongoing interest in visually rich, action-heavy titles.

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Unique Player Metrics and Valve’s Top 50

Valve released its own list of the top 50 demos by unique player count, offering another useful perspective. While many of the top games in this list aligned with the wishlist and CCU data, there were a few notable additions. Starlight Re:Volver, an anime-style co-op action roguelite, appeared in Valve’s top 10 despite not ranking as highly in other performance metrics. This suggests the game had broad initial interest, even if it did not generate sustained playtime or follower growth.

Several shorter-form or novelty demos also ranked well by unique players. Titles like Escape From Duckov, a top-down extraction shooter with a duck-themed aesthetic, and CloverPit, a slot machine roguelite, attracted large numbers of players. Backseat Drivers, a humorous co-op driving game, also performed well in this category. These examples point to the appeal of quick, accessible experiences that are easy to sample during a time-limited festival.

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Discoverability and Broader Trends

Overall, June 2025’s Steam Next Fest highlighted the sheer volume and diversity of demos now available during these events. According to analysis from GameDiscoverCo, only around one percent of the demos—approximately 30 out of 2,600—received significant media attention or high player engagement, underscoring the challenge of discoverability in such a crowded field.

Follower acquisition data showed that games ranking in the top 1 percent typically added over 30,000 wishlists, while those in the top 10 percent gained approximately 3,000. Median games, despite the increased competition, saw follower counts similar to past events, averaging around 15. This equates to roughly 300 wishlists, showing that visibility remains achievable, though more competitive, as the number of demos continues to grow.

Steam Next Fest Continues to Grow in Scale

Final Thoughts

Steam Next Fest continues to serve as a major platform for showcasing new and upcoming PC games. The June 2025 edition revealed no dominant genre or overarching trend, instead reflecting a broad mix of gameplay styles and themes. While a few high-performing titles led in metrics like wishlists, concurrent users, and followers, the event’s most notable characteristic was the sheer variety of experiences on offer. With more than 2,600 demos, the festival reaffirms its importance as both a discovery tool for players and a promotional opportunity for developers, even as competition for attention continues to intensify.