The June 2025 Steam Next Fest is now live, offering hundreds of free game demos through Monday, June 16. The event showcases many upcoming titles, with several playable demos from games featured in recent industry events. Some of these games are set to launch within the next few weeks, while others may keep their demos available indefinitely.
One standout game is an upcoming third-person shooter featuring fast-paced combat and surreal enemies. Players can explore various landscapes without a map or quest markers. The demo requires an RTX 4090 for 4K gameplay with upscaling at 30 frames per second.
Yacht Club Games, known for Shovel Knight, has released a new trailer for Mina the Hollower. This top-down puzzle action game is reminiscent of early Legend of Zelda titles. Baby Steps, from the creator of Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, is an absurd platformer where players control an “unemployed failson” using physics-based foot controls to navigate a strange world.
It is a 3D take on Foddy’s 2008 browser game, QWOP. An isometric-style RPG casts players as a noble using magic in an alternative 18th-century kingdom near Venice. The story spans 25 to 50 hours with over 400,000 words and 180 characters.
june fest demo highlights
The demo supports both PC and macOS. The developer behind Blasphemous is preparing to launch a new 2D pixel art entry in the Ninja Gaiden series of action platformers.
The demo includes two tutorial levels, two full levels, and a more challenging difficulty mode. An immersive sim, reminiscent of Deus Ex, features an assassin in large, open-ended levels with multiple objectives. The demo includes new weapons, a tutorial, characters, a redesigned menu system, and vehicle controls.
Metal Eden, a fast-paced first-person shooter from the developer of Ruiner, resembles Doom 2016 with a cyberpunk, anime-inspired aesthetic. The demo offers the first two missions and benchmark options for Unreal Engine 5 graphics. Eriksholm, set in a fantasy city inspired by early 1900s Scandinavia, is a top-down stealth game featuring three characters with different abilities.
The game’s cinematic storyline unfolds with highly detailed Unreal Engine 5 visuals during dialogue scenes. Lastly, an action horror game set in early 1990s Poland features a unique shifting perspective system combining pixel art and retro 3D graphics. The demo’s release suggests the full game might launch this year.
Steam Next Fest provides a great opportunity for players to explore upcoming titles and offer feedback to developers. Many of the games are still in early development, so be sure to check out their Steam pages for links to developer social channels and Discord servers.
Deanna Ritchie is a managing editor at DevX. She has a degree in English Literature. She has written 2000+ articles on getting out of debt and mastering your finances. She has edited over 60,000 articles in her life. She has a passion for helping writers inspire others through their words. Deanna has also been an editor at Entrepreneur Magazine and ReadWrite.
