"Three times a year, Steam puts on Next Fest. A digital alternative to the E3 trade-shows of old, the event prioritizes demos for up-and-coming works. It's a great, zero-investment opportunity to not just check out the biggest and most curious hits on the horizon, but to flesh out a sense of what games excite you, specifically. Because gaming doesn't have common third spaces like rep theatres or record shops, this is as good as it'll get for most."
"Surprisingly, it's on that note that Steam runs especially flat. The games that make Next Fest's front page are just as traffic-oriented as what the store calls attention to every other day of the year. If you're like me, you keep tabs on interesting curators and creators, squirrelling games away into your wishlist. But even if you proactive, Steam doesn't offer a function to see if anything you've earmarked has joined in the festivities ( you're welcome, by the way )."
Steam runs Next Fest three times a year, offering free demos that showcase upcoming games and help players explore new titles without financial commitment. The event can surface both popular and niche works, aiding discovery in a gaming ecosystem that lacks physical third spaces like repertory theatres or record shops. Storefront algorithms and front-page traffic incentives often prioritize already-popular games, reducing personalization and causing festival front pages to mirror everyday store biases. Steam lacks a built-in way to filter a user's wishlist for festival entries, so users must manually follow developers, curators, and creators to track participating games.
Read at Kotaku
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