Steam Next Fest: how to get more wishlists from your demo
How many players wishlist after a Steam Next Fest demo, why the wishlists you bring in matter most, and what to do before, during and after the fest.
Updated
Most demo players won’t wishlist, and that’s normal
In Chris Zukowski’s data from developers in the June 2026 Next Fest, the median share of demo players who also wishlisted was about 19%, with most games between roughly 16% and 23%. If yours is in that range, your demo is doing its job.
Momentum going in decides a lot
Next Fest surfaces demos partly by how popular they already are, so games that arrive with wishlists and players tend to get more from the event. The fest amplifies attention you bring; it rarely creates it from nothing. The same goes for Steam’s Popular Upcoming list and Personal Calendar.
Thousands of demos enter every fest, so standing out takes work outside Steam too.
Before, during, after
- Before: put the demo out a few weeks early, and get creators playing it so you arrive with players and wishlists.
- During: stream the demo yourself, and have creators post videos the same week.
- After: keep the demo up if it converts well, and watch your UTM report to see which links brought wishlists.
Creators who play your demo on stream send players to your store page, where they can wishlist. Post a job and pay only for the wishlists Steam verifies.