Steam Next Fest’s Most-Played Demos Dominated By 2 Surprising Genres

Steam Next Fest is an exciting, if slightly overwhelming, event for PC gamers. This weeklong celebration typically happens 3 times per year, bringing us a hefty helping of new game demos to try and cram into a 7 day period. Not every demo expires right at the end of Steam Next Fest, but many do. That means it can be a bit of a crunch to try and play every new game demo you want to try out during the event. But clearly, players are gravitating towards a few specific types of games for this October’s Steam Next Fest.

Steam Next Fest October 2025 began on October 13th, and it will wrap up on Monday, October 20th. That means there are still a few more days to check out some great demos for everything from the new Dungeons & Dragons game to highly anticipated farming sims like Starsand Island. But a look at the top charts of what gamers have gravitated to so far makes it clear that players are hungry for two specific genres right now. And they’re not the games that typically top the charts for these kinds of events on Steam.

Horror and Simulation Games Dominate October Steam Next Fest 2025

Although I haven’t had as much time to play demos as I’d like, I love to see what other people are up to. That means I spend a not insignificant amount of time looking at the Steam charts at any given time of year. But during Steam Next Fest, it’s especially fun to check out the list of most-played demos. And this time around, there’s a definite trend. The top 10 most-played demos fall into one of two genres: tactical simulation games and horror.

At the time I’m writing this, the top 10 most-played Steam Next Fest demos are as follows:

• Half-Sword – Medieval Combat Simulator
• Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era Turn-Based Strategy Simulator
• Final Sentence – Horror Simulation Game
• YapYap – Comedy Horror
• Everwind – Open-World Survival RPG
• Reanimal -Atmospheric Horror
• The Midnight Walkers – Extraction Shooter Horror
• Misery – Survival Co-Op Horror
• Car Service Together – Racing Simulator
• Roadside Research – Immersive Life Sim

As you can see, the top 10 demos are all some version of a simulation or horror game. In some cases, like with Final Sentence, they’re both. Of course, this Steam Next Fest falling in October could be part of the reason for the influx of horror. After all, this time of year is when people like to lean into all things spooky. But looking at previous October Steam Next Fest top charts, your more typical FPS and MOBA games still rank among the most-played titles. So clearly, the month of October isn’t the entire reason players are gravitating towards horror this time around.

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The really surprising thing, though, is the prevalence of simulators here. In past years, Steam Next Fest charts tend to get dominated by a mix of MMORPGs, MOBAs, and FPS games, with a few other genres thrown in. February’s list of top games, for instance, featured the demo for the mecha suit shooter, Mecha BREAK, along with the dungeon-crawling MMORPG, Fellowship. Some casual games like Bongo Cat made the list, as well. But full-on simulators and horror games aren’t typically the dominant genres.

We won’t have the final numbers on the most played demos until October Steam Next Fest wraps up on October 10th. But even so, it looks like gamers might be leaning into more laid-back, solo gaming experiences. When they’re not getting terrified by horror games, that is.

From medieval combat simulation to games that let you fix up old cars, this Steam Next Fest has brought some interesting demos to the top of the list. It may be that this year has offered so many massive MMORPGs and shooters that gamers are curious to see what else is out there. But it could be a trend towards needing a little more time to unwind in our gaming hours.

If any of these most-played Steam demos are calling your name, you have until October 20th to check them out for free. Some demos may remain available after the event ends, but it really depends on the game. So, if these horror and simulation games are a must-try for you, make some time in the next few days.

Which demos made your list for this October’s Steam Next Fest? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!