🎮 Next Fest Demo Explosion! This Week's Steam Indie Roundup 💸 - 2026.10.20 | Steam

Hello, fans! 🎮

Late October and Steam news is still pouring in. Anyone else up all night sorting their wishlist? 😂

🧩 November 2: A Text-Free Puzzle Release Arrives

Solo developer Robert Kortowski announced that the 2D puzzle game 'Dwarf the Dungeonist' will officially launch on PC via Steam on November 2 ^[1]. A pure puzzle world with no text? Perfect for anyone who hates reading manuals. My fingers are already itching 🤏

🎪 Next Fest Demo Barrage

Fun demos keep rolling out at Steam Next Fest!

🍉 Stick A Fork An active incremental game from Korean indie studio FlowDot. Smash giant fruit on screen with tools ranging from forks to chainsaws. Could there be a better stress reliever? A free demo is available ^[2].

⚔️ Billy the Hero A dark fantasy turn-based RPG from indie studio JOJOJOJOsoft. The studio announced its Steam Next Fest participation and a free demo on the 19th ^[3]. Turn-based RPG fans, this one's a must-check!

🍃 Leafborn A 3D roguelite where 10,000 leaves turn into saw blades and whirlwinds. The free demo is playable on PC via Steam now, though the full release schedule was not announced in this material ^[5]. Time to give the demo a spin!

🌧️ Rain98 A lo-fi psycho thriller romance adventure set in Tokyo in 1998. Japanese indie label C#4R4CT3R (Character) released a 3-hour Steam trial ^[4]. With a 2027 release planned, it's a great long-term wishlist pick 📝

🛒 Check Out the New Steam Releases Video

The channel 시넌쓰 posted a video recommending new Steam games, including The Blood of Dawnwalker, Way of the Sword, Control Resonant, Dragon's Dogma 2: Dark Arisen, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 ^[9].

There's also a preview video for the October 2026 edition of Steam Next Fest. The description links to the Fall Showcase and a list of 100 upcoming indie games for the second half of 2026 ^[8]. A great way to scout ahead 👀

⚠️ AI Copycat Threats Against Indie Developers

Not all news is happy. As AI tools become more accessible, reports say people are extracting trailers, screenshots, and assets from indie games on Steam to churn out shallow copycats in no time ^[6]. Some have even demanded '$200 or we clone your game with AI and sell it first' 😡

Ahead of Next Fest, alarm bells are ringing across the industry. The report says this problem is compounded by Valve's lax store review process ^[7]. As fans, the best we can do is support the indie games we love by buying them legitimately 💪

That's it for this week. Wallet warning still in effect! See you with more news 💸