The last couple of years have seen several new genres emerge, and this week, developers from across the world are looking to cement “Fake OS” games as the next big thing. These are the games that simulate operating systems, desktops, and mobile phones, using that digital canvas to tell engaging stories designed to thrill and mystify the user on the other end of the screen.
To get recognition for Fake OS games as a genre, more than 150 developers have teamed up to shine a spotlight on their games with a coordinated community push on Steam. All of these games will have the Fake OS tag during a week-long sale starting April 27 and running through May 4. A live showcase highlighting these games will be held on May 2 in the form of InterfaceX, and hosted by GameSpot’s very own Lucy James and Kurt Indovina–they’ve always got you covered.
As for the sale that has just begun, nearly 100 games have been discounted. While this isn’t an official Steam sale like Valve’s other themed events, the core idea is a community-first approach designed to encourage players to tag these games on Steam and help define the genre from the ground up. There’s precedent for this push as well, as back in 2024, Dwarf Fortress and Deep Rock Galactic developers managed to get Valve to greenlight a Dwarf Steam tag. To see how you can help, you can use the event’s custom-built web app to help guide you through the tagging process.
There’s a good chance that you’ve already played a Fake OS game as well, as titles like Hypnospace Outlaw, Her Story, Emily is Away, and The Roottrees are Dead have all been pioneers in this space.
When to watch InterfaceX
The showcase will be held on May 2, at the following times:
- 10 AM PT
- 1 PM ET
- 6 PM BST
- 7 PM CET
- 4 AM AET (May 3)
Where to watch InterfaceX
You can watch the showcase on YouTube.
- YouTube
What to expect
The livestream will show off 32 new and updated games, with appearances from creators like Jesse Cox, Dodger, Nookrium, and Stormfall33. The full lineup includes the following titles from various studios:
- Alawon: Life of a Game Composer (Muscle Cat)
- Author Sim (EssyTheSlug)
- Database Detective: Minor Crimes Division (Thomas Hsu)
- Deep Fog Signals (Symmetry Break Studio)
- Desktop Explorer (Recurring Dream)
- Digital Processing (Ant Workshop)
- Directory Dungeon (JuhrJuhr)
- DOLOS: Your Best Future (Playing Paradigms)
- Forbidden Solitaire (Grey Alien Games, Night Signal Entertainment)
- Heaven Does Not Respond (Rise Studios)
- HOMEPAGE (Gestmorph Games)
- I.T Never Ends (Dadbod Games)
- Imprinted (Cobalt Lane)
- Lost Wiki: Kozlovka (yattytheman)
- lovebyte.exe (Nochi Studios)
- mobOS (mob)
- Murder Meet Cute (Kitico, LABORARE, Crybaby Studios)
- MyDear.exe (Falling Leaves Studio, ClemiSoft)
- New Folder (Evicted Games)
- Plobania 47/B (Two Bites)
- Short Short Fictions (room6, 密輸水産)
- Shutter Story (Frostwood Interactive)
- SPRKLS.exe (PesiiDom)
- Super Real AI (Super Real AI)
- SYNTAXIA (CANCAT Games)
- The Games You Make (Jumpy Bit)
- The Outer Frame (Sapucai Games)
- Void Future: Hacking Protocol (RVL Interactive)
- ZeroPrompt (ZeroBit)