Steam Next Fest: The Ultimate Strategy Game Demo Lineup
The biggest demo event of the year is here, and in 2025, this Steam Next Fest is set up to be a massive success! If you’re excited for the up-and-coming strategy games to release in 2025 and 2026, you really don’t want to miss the Steam Next Fest, running from October 13th to 20th.
Having played most of these games before, I have combed through the vast available line-up of titles to bring you the 10 Must-Try Strategy Games Demos that are guaranteed to dominate your playlist for the following week, and to permeate your wishlist until their release. This is your chance to play an exclusive, limited-time slice of some of the most anticipated 2026 strategy games, from deep turn-based tactics and grand city-builders to compelling real-time challenges. Let’s get started!
10 – Systemic War
If you’re looking for an exciting pitch for a new strategy game, Systemic War has got you covered. This is a title that wants to blend grand strategy (such as Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis) with intense, real-time tactical battles, similar to those of WARNO and Broken Arrow. Set in the modern day, between 2008 and 2025, the game will have players heading a major world power, managing its economy, politics, diplomacy, as well as its military. The game is set to feature an infrastructure model composed of real rail and road networks, alongside an economic model, as well as 150 military units. I would recommend this game to those who enjoy the Wargame series of titles from Eugen, as well as fans of grand strategy.
9 – Whiskerwood
Whiskerwood is a cute and complex colony management/city builder game where you lead a community of industrious mice struggling under the “oppressive paw” of their cat overlords. The game is set to release on November 6th, and now it’s time to take a look. Developed by Minakata Dynamics, the company behind the excellent Railgrade, the game features deep, intricate simulation systems, including complex production chains with over 40 commodities, automated logistics, railroads, and a vertical building system. The end goal is to free yourself from the regime of your feline oppressors. A free demo is available to play now on Steam as part of the Steam Next Fest (October 13–20, 2025), giving players a chance to establish their first colony before the game’s Early Access release on November 6, 2025.
8 – Nova Patria
I’m putting Nova Patria here for its wild setting idea that I have never even contemplated could be a thing. Hear me out: An isometric Roman Steampunk game, set in an alternate history where the Roman Empire never fell, and kept on evolving, eventually discovering steam power. Players will act as colonial governors and build their cities from the ground up, starting with small hamlets and evolving them into massive, industrial powerhouses. Because what could be more exciting than the return of the Roman Empire? The Roman Empire had trains, blimps, and factories alongside traditional villas and aqueducts.
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