Valve revealed on the 27th the 50 most-played demo games from 'Steam Next Fest: October 2026 Edition'. Domestic developer XL Games' 'ArcheAge Chronicles' also ranked 5th.
Steam Next Fest is a regular event that offers free demos of upcoming games. This event ran from October 20 to October 27, Korean time, with rankings compiled based on the number of unique players who played each demo during the event period.
First place went to 'Worst Class Ever', an asymmetric multiplayer game centered on a showdown between a teacher and students. Up to 6 players can play together; students pull pranks such as sneaking snacks or passing secret notes during class out of the teacher's sight, while the teacher must catch them. According to the developer, approximately 600,000 players played the demo during the event.
Second place went to 'Probably Stolen', a shop management simulator set in a cyberpunk universe. Players run a shop in a dystopian world, trading various goods, identifying counterfeit items, or engaging in suspicious transactions. Third place was taken by 'Find The Needle', an idle game where players search for a single needle among approximately 6 million strands of hay.
Additionally, the co-op game 'Fart Together', where players propel a raft using the propulsion of farts, took 4th place, and the survival action game 'Frostrail' ranked 6th. The top 50 titles featured upcoming games across various genres, including 'Tropico 7', 'Warhammer Survivors', and 'Emberville'.
Meanwhile, the Korean-developed 'ArcheAge Chronicles' placed 5th overall. Developed by Kakao Games subsidiary XL Games, the title inherits the universe of the original 'ArcheAge' while emphasizing open-world exploration and action-oriented combat.
Although Steam Next Fest has ended, demos for some games remain available. The full list of the top 50 popular demos can be checked on Steam's official event page.
