Steam Next Fest’s Most Played Demo Is a Chaotic Spiritual Successor to PEAK

Heading into Steam Next Fest, upcoming open-world pirate game Windrose held the top slot for most-played demo. The title remains among the most-played games participating in the event, still hitting daily concurrent player counts of over 10,000 users. But a new, chaotic co-op game is gunning for the top slot as we head into the final weekend of Next Fest. And from the looks of it, this new game could well be the next PEAK if it plays its cards right.

PEAK became incredibly popular last year due to its entertaining co-op gameplay. With deceptively cute cartoon characters, the mountain-climbing survival game delivered surprisingly challenging physics-based gameplay. It was fun to play with friends and entertaining to watch on stream. And from the looks of it, that’s exactly what Burglin’ Gnomes has going for it, too. The game’s Steam Next Fest demo surpassed Windrose for the highest all-time player peak during Next Fest and is maintaining a pretty steady player count going into the weekend. But what is Burglin’ Gnomes, and why are so many people playing it right now?

Burglin’ Gnomes Offers Chaos, Crafting, and Co-Op in Steam Next Fest Demo

Burglin’ Gnomes launched its demo ahead of Steam Next Fest, giving players a bit of time to find the game. It now sits at the top of Steam’s “Top Demos” charts during the Steam Next Fest event. And it’s not hard to see why after even the quickest glance at the game’s Steam page. Developer Fobri describes Burglin’ Gnomes as “an online co-op game about breaking into houses and causing havoc as a tiny gnome.” Basically, it’s co-op chaos a la PEAK meets doing crimes like Schedule I. And players certainly aren’t tired of it yet.

Burglin’ Gnomes supports multiplayer for up to 6 people. Your gnome army’s goal is to break into a human house and rob its owners blind. However, you need to avoid being spotted by said humas. And on top of that, you’re a group of working gnomes with jobs to do. As you explore the house, you’ll be tasked with various jobs tokeep the High-Gnome happy. Failing to complete them could have devastating consequences. You can really get a feel for the chaos and comedy in the official demo launch trailer, which you can watch below:

In addition to sneaking around, stealing stuff, and taking the occasional smoke break, Burglin’ Gnomes also has a crafting component. The things you steal can be used to upgrade your gnome home, giving the chaotic co-op game a little touch of cozy. From the looks of it, this game is leaning into a lot of what has made for some big hits in the past. If the Steam Next Fest demo’s popularity is any indication, it’s working.

For now, Burglin’ Gnomes does not have a specific release date or release window. It is listed as “coming soon” on Steam. That said, the game’s free demo will run “for the foreseeable future” according to the developer’s latest Steam update. So, you have plenty of time to check out what the demo has to offer while waiting for the game’s full release.

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