The October 2026 edition of Steam Next Fest started on October 19, allowing users to explore Steam’s massive catalog of games with free playable demos. Millions of PC gamers logged on but on…
I have yet to see the actual numbers about this, I’m pretty sure it’s worse than what my gut feeling (and anecdotal observation) tells me: I download a TON of demos during Next Fest, it’s my favourite events of the year, so I tend to browse through hundreds of demos sorted by charts.
February had around 3000 demos and 717 of those has declared using generative AI (keep in mind there’s also a bunch that did NOT declare using it, a lot of Steam capsules artwork are generated by AI despite no disclaimer for example)
June had 4411 demos (27% more) and 553 of those (12%) has declared using generative AI (27% less) (that can mean either less demos using generative ai OR more demos hiding the fact they’re using generative ai)
October (current edition) has 6509 registered demos, that’s a huge jump (57% more)
If you ask me the huge jump in committed demos is very likely due to vibe coding quickly becoming the de facto standard over the summer and turning out massive amounts of code in a few hours. I assume many “developers” have already accepted that this is how things are done for the moment and don’t even declare AI use anymore. “I haven’t written a single line of code last month!” is something I keep hearing lately. Even from indie devs who have already launched somewhat successful games on Steam. Some of them seem so happy about it that I wonder if they have any critical thinking skills at all because them essentially not working anymore means they’re all out of the job soon.
Making a game involves a lot more work than just coding. You don’t necessarily have to be out of work due to that. Some people may even be in work due to that, if they had a good strong vision for a game and it’s mechanics but we’re lacking coding skills. Still, it’s a complicated situation so it’s not black and white.
I’m pretty sure its companies capitalising on the hype.
They shit out a 75% complete game, then use AI to wrap models on a skeleton to make a “game”, that makes a good demo. Unfortunately the original company only wrote so much original code, so all these demos really can’t get past that (which makes an insane sales pitch, your hard work finally made your dream come true - just pay us $12.99 a month!).
I have yet to see the actual numbers about this, I’m pretty sure it’s worse than what my gut feeling (and anecdotal observation) tells me: I download a TON of demos during Next Fest, it’s my favourite events of the year, so I tend to browse through hundreds of demos sorted by charts.
If you ask me the huge jump in committed demos is very likely due to vibe coding quickly becoming the de facto standard over the summer and turning out massive amounts of code in a few hours. I assume many “developers” have already accepted that this is how things are done for the moment and don’t even declare AI use anymore. “I haven’t written a single line of code last month!” is something I keep hearing lately. Even from indie devs who have already launched somewhat successful games on Steam. Some of them seem so happy about it that I wonder if they have any critical thinking skills at all because them essentially not working anymore means they’re all out of the job soon.
Making a game involves a lot more work than just coding. You don’t necessarily have to be out of work due to that. Some people may even be in work due to that, if they had a good strong vision for a game and it’s mechanics but we’re lacking coding skills. Still, it’s a complicated situation so it’s not black and white.
I’m pretty sure its companies capitalising on the hype.
They shit out a 75% complete game, then use AI to wrap models on a skeleton to make a “game”, that makes a good demo. Unfortunately the original company only wrote so much original code, so all these demos really can’t get past that (which makes an insane sales pitch, your hard work finally made your dream come true - just pay us $12.99 a month!).
It’s 8000 actually.
Oh, my source might be wrong then, where did you get the number?
From the next fest page.