10 simulation game demos to escape reality with during Steam Next Fest, October 2026

Simulation games are a great way to escape reality and embark on adventures that would never be possible in real life. I love a good farming sim or sandbox game that lets me build and create, but I also love a shop simulator game that makes me feel like I could be an award-winning merchant if I had the funds to open my own store. 

Steam Next Fest October 2026 is packed full of simulation game demos to try ahead of their releases, but it can be hard to find them amid the long list of other games that are vying for attention. Rest easy, I’ve trawled the Next Fest catalog and found 10 simulation game demos that are absolutely worth trying during the event.

Probably Stolen

Probably Stolen is a shop simulator with a dystopian space station twist that reminds me a lot of Silo, if you’ve ever watched it. You run a store selling scavenged parts, materials, and household objects to whoever stops by, from the common folk to those with more privilege than they’ve likely earned. Most of the stock is perfectly legit, but you might come across some contraband every now and then. 

Things aren’t as straightforward as they first appear, though; you’ll end up stuck in the middle of various factions that inhabit the space station, having to choose sides. Sometimes it’s easy, but other times it feels like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Do you call security on the criminals, or do you risk being an accomplice? Your decisions change how the game plays out, so you better choose wisely. 

Developed by Questing Goose Studio, Probably Stolen is set to release on October 28, 2026. If you can’t wait that long, the demo is available on Steam!

Sandcastle

Sandcastle is perhaps the most literal sandbox game I’ve ever encountered. You’re given a tiny stretch of beach, complete with tidal water, and some tools to create sandcastles or otherwise mess with the beach. As you play, there are also collectible items that float in on the tide that you can collect to unlock new building tools or decorations.

There’s something so unbelievably calming about a game that lets you do whatever you want, especially one that lets you play with sand like no time has passed since the simpler times when that was the height of excitement at the playground or beach holidays. I’ve spent hours building rivers and castles and ponds up the beach in this game. 

Sandcastle is being developed by Bubble Bird Studio and doesn’t have a release date just yet, but the demo alone is enough to keep you entertained and digging for hours.

Coin Maker Simulator

Coin Maker Simulator is what happens when you take a simple concept, throw in some semi-historically-realistic mechanics, and give the player a goal. You’re trapped in a medieval dungeon with nothing except the tools to endlessly make coins, and you have to fulfil orders from people you never meet. In this timeline, the Royal Mint began as one man in a basement… who knew?

While you’re making coins and trying to earn your way out of the dungeon, there are a bunch of special coins to find by completing hidden puzzles or actions, and each coin provides a buff that improves your efficiency. This is one of those simple yet addictive simulators that will keep you playing, even if you’ve never shown any desire to make coins before. 

Coin Maker Simulator is being developed by Studio 312 and is set to come out at some point in March 2027, so there’s a while to wait until we see what will be on offer beyond the demo. If you want to give the demo a try, it’s available on Steam right now. 

Lenin Street Geek Shop

If you love the early 2000s vibe and a classic shop sim, you’ll love Lenin Street Geek Shop by Perelesoq. You’ve dropped out of school to run the shop selling all kinds of geeky goods and everyday essentials, and every customer brings their own story to the counter that gets uncovered as you get to know them. 

The game is half 2D and half 3D, though the two styles never mix. As long as you’re inside the shop, everything is 3D, but as soon as you step out between shifts or to deal with something outside, the pixel art truly shines. All sorts of bizarre scenarios play out while you’re clocked off, including one very bizarre Skittle-based scalping situation. 

There’s no release date for Lenin Street Geek Shop just yet, but the demo is available to play now on Steam if you want to meet all of the “interesting” people who show up to buy their geeky wares.

Heritage Flipper

Heritage Flipper feels like the illicit love child of Powerwash Simulator and House Flipper that I didn’t know I was waiting to find. The gameplay loop will instantly be familiar to anyone who's played either game, or anything similar. Complete jobs, earn money, then use it to purchase upgrades or even your own personal properties to renovate. 

Each job starts with cleaning up the outside of the property: remove rubbish, then use a power washer and sandblaster to remove years of grime and neglect. Then, once that’s done, you go inside to decorate before unpacking furniture and bringing warmth back into increasingly large spaces. Heritage Flipper feels like something I can see myself pouring hours into when it gets released. 

It’s being developed by Four Arms Games and is apparently coming out at some point in 2026. The demo is available as part of Steam Next Fest and is well worth checking out if you’re a fan of home renovation games. 

Arcade Cafe Simulator

As someone with a dream of running my own indie arcade cafe someday, many would argue that Arcade Cafe Simulator is the perfect game for me to try to see whether I’ve got what it takes to make that dream a reality, at least virtually. And it turns out I do, as long as I apparently don’t mind settling foosball disputes by slapping a customer upside the head. (Disclaimer: I would never!)

You buy old-school arcade machines and other games, get the customers in, take their money, and keep on top of repairs to make sure you don’t lose out on any valuable income. As you level up, new machines and games become available, as well as the option to unlock further space. The demo seems to focus more on the arcade side of things than the cafe side of things, but how hard could adding a new element be once the arcade is set up in the first place?

Developed by Ox Games, Arcade Cafe Simulator is due to be released on November 10, 2026. Until then, the demo is available to try on Steam. 

Pawn Shift

If you’re looking for something more in keeping with the general spooky vibes of October, then Pawn Shift by Two-Man Shift is here to keep you on the edge of your seat. You’re working the night shift at a local pawn shop, and things seem fine at first, but then you start hearing about bodies showing up, the questionable disappearance of your predecessor, and your therapist starts asking whether you’ve taken your meds. 

Things just get darker and weirder as the game progresses, starting with shadows out of the corner of your eye and progressing to powerful jump scares from unexpected places. Mixed in with things that seem scary but end up being completely benign, there’s a deeply unsettling atmosphere in this PSX horror shop simulator.

The demo for Pawn Shift is available to play right now on Steam, and the full game is set to come out at some point in Q4 2026.

Federal Cadet

Federal Cadet is a low-poly police officer simulator in which you, a fresh-from-the-academy cadet, wind up in a small town that has an apparently ridiculously high crime rate. Admittedly, most of the crime is parking violations and noise complaints, but there’s also some drug-related stuff and a touch of shoplifting as well. 

As a cadet, it’s your responsibility to head out onto the streets of the town and deal with the crime, questioning suspects and witnesses, gathering evidence, and making arrests. You need to work with central dispatch to verify certain evidence you gather, with each successfully handled investigation helping you climb the ranks towards chiefdom. 

Federal Cadet is being developed by LeeRanger Studio and set for release in December 2026, but there’s a bunch of crimes to solve and a town to explore in the demo, available on Steam. 

A Game About Cutting Grass

There are a lot of semi-high-stakes games on this list, but if you want something more chill and laid-back, A Game About Cutting Grass is here to serve that purpose, and as someone who has been known to head into the garden with nothing more than a pair of scissors to deal with the weeds, this one makes me feel seen in a new and unexpected way. 

You start with a pair of scissors to slowly snip your way through an incredibly overgrown yard, gradually upgrading the speed and size of your snips. You can try to get the best time possible, but there’s something relaxing about taking the slow route and doing things a tiny bit at a time. Sure, a lawnmower would be quicker, but there’s something satisfying about that snipping action. 

A Game About Cutting Grass is being developed by ZimonG and due to be released at some point in October 2026, so there isn’t too long to wait before you can mow the grass beyond the demo. 

Pokorama

Pokorama is an interior design simulation game that gives you a room, a brief, and a selection of materials to use. You click on the objects and surfaces around the room, choose their material or color based on the brief you were given, and hope that the client is happy with your choices. 

It’s easy to decorate a space for your own tastes, but following a brief that you don’t necessarily agree with is a completely different story. You can easily get absorbed in designing a room for yourself in this game, which is how my clients ended up with dark walls, exposed bricks, and walnut furniture. Three of the four demo clients were happy with my choices, and you can’t please everyone. 

Developed by Studio Pokorama, this interior design sim is set to release in Q4 2026. Until then, the demo is available on Steam.