Next Fest Q&A September 25 2024 (10am PT session)

Members of the Steam Business Team answer developers’ questions about registering for and getting the most out of Steam Next Fest. Topics covered in this presentation: 00:00:00 Open 00:00:32 Intros 00:01:18 Overview of what to expect for Next Fest October 2024 00:04:06 Prioritizing visibility 00:05:29 Will games participating in Next Fest get higher priority 00:05:57 Does a demo need to be live to participate in the press preview 00:07:43 Can games participate in multiple Next Fests 00:08:19 Can a game release before Next Fest begins 00:08:58 How to increase visibility during Next Fest 00:09:45 How to time announcements 00:10:29 What determines the ranking on Next Fest pages 00:12:39 When will press assets be available 00:13:01 How are seasonal elements handled 00:13:25 What helps with discoverability 00:13:56 October Next Fest preview - 00:14:31 When can developers know how games are being shown in Next Fest - 00:15:06 Press Preview 00:15:29 Do press automatically get access to demos 00:16:03 Next Fest categories and the front page of the Steam Store 00:16:38 Do trailers need to be uploaded somewhere specific 00:17:41 Can a trailer get uploaded just before Next Fest begins 00:18:23 Can a demo store page get disabled while the demo is still live 00:18:58 Can user reviews be disabled 00:19:18 Demos with and without separate store pages 00:20:14 October Next Fest Deadlines 00:22:02 One or multiple trailers 00:22:41 Will future Next Fests be extended to run longer 00:24:11 How do wishlists impact discoverability 00:25:06 Best tagging practices 00:25:40 How has the main page structure changed 00:26:25 Best tag practices (continued) 00:27:14 Where will a game appear to customers 00:28:23 Trailer best practices 00:29:08 Press preview 00:30:18 Does a demo require a separate store page from the base game 00:31:29 Will a separate store page for a demo increase visibility 00:32:37 Can a demo get released before the start of Next Fest 00:33:41 Is a separate store page for a demo recommended 00:34:54 Is there a difference between a dev page and a public facing page 00:36:07 How are livestreams being implemented for this Next Fest 00:38:02 Categories vs tags 00:39:06 Demo build review process 00:40:01 Can demo builds be patched during Next Fest 00:40:50 Is Next Fest page content localized 00:42:16 Demo deadlines 00:43:15 Visibility 00:44:24 Does concurrent players during Next Fest affect performance of the base game launch 00:45:27 Livestreaming an internal demo build 00:45:49 Trailers and the press preview 00:46:46 Trailer upload deadlines 00:47:44 Front page upcoming release criteria 00:48:44 Using Next Fest to improve visibility 00:50:38 Launching a demo before Next Fest - 00:50:50 Can a livestream be pre-recorded 00:52:03 Game discoverability 00:52:30 How will review scores affect visibility later-on in Next Fest 00:53:05 Is there a separate place to upload demo trailers 00:53:31 Emailing players directly when a demo launches 00:54:37 Follow-up - Separate trailer upload space for a demo 00:55:18 Visibility on the stream tab 00:56:19 Launching a demo prior to Next Fest 00:56:58 How long should a trailer be for the micro-trailer tech 00:58:37 Regarding the increasing number of games participating in Next Fest 00:59:24 Wrap up