Steam Next Fest has come and gone, and one of the big criticisms of the semi-regular showcase for game demos–aside from there being several thousand of them–was that there was simply too much AI slop floating to the top. Valve has responded to the feedback, and for now, its solution to avoiding hastily vibe-coded game demos is to simply be patient and wait a few days before diving in.
Speaking at the Steam Indie Connect developer event (via Inven Global), Tom Giardino and Marc Wilkinson from Valve’s Steam Business Team addressed the recent criticisms of Next Fest. Wilkinson explained that users are shown a completely random lineup of game demos for the first two days of Next Fest, but after that time period, people can expect personalized recommendations to kick in.
Wilkinson also added that many of the features about low-quality games surfacing were written during those first two days of Next Fest, although that doesn’t change the fact that all those demos were still present for the duration of Next Fest.
As for why Next Fest starts off with a randomized selection of games, Wilkinson explained that it’s done to give all developers equal exposure and to prevent system abuse. “We recognize that the trade-off is some low-quality games get exposed,” Wilkinson said. “We are fully aware of the situation, and a significant number of people are thinking about how to solve this problem.”
As mentioned above, the other big problem with Next Fest was the sheer number of demos present, as the number has climbed sharply between Next Fest events. Giardino described this as “the pendulum swinging to the opposite side,” as three years ago, there were “only 50 or 100 games” participating in Next Fest. While Valve is bullish on the recent Next Fest, the general consensus is that it’s become increasingly hard to find standout demos without checking social media and websites for recommendations, and the event feels more like a dumping ground for low-effort slop.
One way to see what’s popular is to check the Steam Charts, where demos stay up, and you can sort by popularity. It’s not a perfect solution–several of the games did have AI disclosures–but it is one way to cut through the noise, until Valve figures out a remedy to Next Fest’s current problems.
