Research

Do old Steam demos still get played? 978 demos before Next Fest

, Founder of NextWishlist · Data from October 17–18, 2026 · Published

15.5peak players per 1,000 followers, demos under 2 weeks oldMedian, 978 demos
2.7for demos out more than 6 monthsMedian, 978 demos
27%of 6-month-old demos had nobody playing in any readingOct 17–18, 2026
On this page
  1. Players per follower, by demo age
  2. An old demo goes quiet
  3. Does this mean you should release your demo late?
  4. What it means for your demo
  5. How we measured
  6. Limits

Key findingThe weekend before Steam Next Fest October 2026, demos released less than two weeks earlier peaked at a median of 15.5 concurrent players per 1,000 Steam followers, against 2.7 for demos out more than six months: almost 6 times more. 27% of the older demos had nobody playing in any reading.

A demo released early collects wishlists for months. But does anyone still play it when the fest comes? The weekend before Next Fest October 2026, we read the concurrent players of 978 public demos every three hours and compared them by the demo's age, per 1,000 Steam followers of the game.

Sample: 978 public demos of Next Fest October 2026 games with 100+ Steam followers.

01Players per follower, by demo age

  • Under 2 weeks15.5
  • 2 weeks to 2 months13.6
  • 2 to 6 months5.1
  • Over 6 months2.7
Median peak concurrent players per 1,000 Steam followers, by demo age (978 demos, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026).

The drop happens after about two months. A demo between two weeks and two months old still holds most of its players per follower; past two months, it falls by more than half, and past six months to about a sixth of a fresh demo.

02An old demo goes quiet

  • For games with similar follower counts, a fresh demo peaked at 9 players when a demo out for 6+ months peaked at 1.
  • 27% of demos out for more than six months had nobody playing in any of the readings, against 7% of fresh ones.
  • Across all ages, the median demo peaked at about 8 players per 1,000 followers, however many social networks the game linked.

03Does this mean you should release your demo late?

No. Practitioner data from February 2026 shows that a demo released months before Next Fest earned about 2.5 times more wishlists at the fest than one released during it: the months before build the wishlists the fest multiplies. What our data shows is different: an early demo doesn't stay busy on its own.

Part of a fresh demo's peak comes from Steam itself: Valve notifies your wishlisters once per demo, within two weeks of its release. After that, players come only from what you do. So release early, then give people a reason to come back before the fest: an update with new content, a Steam event, a post, a creator video. More in when to release your Steam demo.

04What it means for your demo

  1. Release your demo early enough to collect wishlists before Next Fest (how to prepare for Steam Next Fest).
  2. Two months after release, expect its players to fall: plan an update, an event or a festival around then.
  3. Before the fest, push new players to it in the last two weeks: festivals, creators and your channels (how to get people to play your demo).
  4. Measure players per 1,000 followers, not raw players: it's the only way to compare your demo with bigger games.

How we measured

  • Population: public demos of games on Valve's developer preview list for Steam Next Fest October 2026, for games with 100 or more Steam followers (below that, too few players to compare): 978 demos.
  • Players: the demo's concurrent players, read every 3 hours on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October 2026, the weekend before the fest opened. We kept each demo's peak.
  • Per follower: the peak divided by the game's Steam followers, times 1,000, so games of different sizes can be compared.
  • Age: days between the demo's release and the readings.

Public data only: Steam store pages and public endpoints, read by NextWishlist. No game is named, and no private Steamworks data is used.

Limits

  • One weekend: a demo's players move with updates, festivals and creators, and a single weekend can catch a demo on a good or a bad day.
  • Concurrent players are not wishlists, and the true peak can fall between two readings (the same bias for every demo).
  • Older demos may belong to games that have been in development longer: age is not the only difference between the groups.
  • Games under 100 followers are left out.

Quick answers

Do old Steam demos still get played?

Much less. The weekend before Next Fest October 2026, demos out for more than six months peaked at a median of 2.7 concurrent players per 1,000 Steam followers, against 15.5 for demos under two weeks old, and 27% of them had nobody playing in any reading.

Should I release my Steam demo just before Next Fest?

Not necessarily: practitioner data shows demos released months before the fest earned about 2.5 times more wishlists there. Release early to build wishlists, then bring players back before the fest with an update, an event, festivals or creators.

How many players does a Steam demo have?

For Next Fest October 2026 games with 100+ followers, the median demo peaked at about 8 concurrent players per 1,000 Steam followers the weekend before the fest.

Does Steam notify wishlisters when I release a demo?

Yes, once per demo, within two weeks of its release (Valve's demo rules). That is part of why a fresh demo gets more players.

Cite this study

DreamEp, NextWishlist (2026). Do old Steam demos still get played? 978 demos before Next Fest. https://nextwishlist.com/research/steam-demo-age-players

The figures on this page are free to quote with a link to it (CC BY 4.0).

Sources

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