Steam Early Access: The Rules, the Refund Policy and When It Fits Your Game
November 10, 2026
Indie Game Festivals 2027: Where to Submit Your Game and When
The 2027 dates an indie studio can already plan around are Steam Next Fest (February 22 to March 1, and June 14 to 21), PAX East and gamescom latam with BIG Festival (both April 22 to 25), Nordic Game (May 25 to 28), Develop:Brighton (July 13 to 15), gamescom dev (August 23 to 24) and Tokyo Game Show (September 16 to 20). The IGF 2027 entry window has already closed, on September 13, 2026. Below is each event as its organiser lists it, what you can submit now, and where a date has not been announced yet. We checked every page on 20 October 2026.
2027 dates confirmed by the organisers
- January 10, 11:59pm PST: registration closes for Steam Next Fest February 2027
- February 22 to March 1: Steam Next Fest
- March 1 to 5: GDC Festival of Gaming, with the IGF awards on March 3
- April 22 to 25: PAX East in Boston, and gamescom latam with BIG Festival in São Paulo
- May 5 to 8: the next A MAZE. Berlin, from the organiser’s save-the-date
- May 25 to 28: Nordic Game in Malmö
- June 14 to 21: Steam Next Fest
- July 13 to 15: Develop:Brighton
- August 23 to 24: gamescom dev in Cologne
- September 16 to 20: Tokyo Game Show
What you can enter this winter
Steam Next Fest and Steam’s themed fests
The February edition of Next Fest closes registration on January 10, and the June edition follows on June 14 to 21. A game can take part in Next Fest only once, so choose the edition where your demo is strongest; our Steam Next Fest February 2027 guide has the full timeline. The Steamworks upcoming events page also lists the themed fests for early 2027, among them Couch Co-Op Fest (February 8 to 15), Rhythm Fest (March 8 to 15), Racing Fest (April 12 to 19), Fighting Fest (April 26 to May 3) and Real-Time Strategy Fest (May 10 to 17). Registration details sit on each fest’s own page.
BIG Festival at gamescom latam
gamescom latam runs April 22 to 25, 2027 in the Anhembi District of São Paulo, and its site shows BIG Festival submissions as open. The BIG Festival page accepts unreleased games in alpha, beta or Early Access, and games released from April 22, 2025 onwards, but not a DLC on its own. The page did not show a closing date when we checked, so look before you plan around it.
Nordic Game in Malmö
Nordic Game 2027 returns to Slagthuset on May 25 to 28, and its indie packages are on sale now: a Business Pass with a demo table costs EUR 698 excluding VAT, and a demo station costs EUR 1,995 at its early price. Both include the Publishers and Investors Day, the mentorship programme and the live pitch. The page does not say when the early prices end.
Spring to autumn 2027
- PAX East: April 22 to 25, 2027 at the Thomas M. Menino Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston, per the PAX East site. The PAX Rising selection for 2027 has not been announced yet.
- A MAZE. Berlin: the festival site gives May 5 to 8 as the dates of the next edition. The call for its award has not been announced yet.
- Develop:Brighton: July 13 to 15, 2027 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole, per Develop. Its indie area for unpublished games has no 2027 details yet.
- gamescom and Indie Arena Booth: gamescom dev runs August 23 to 24, 2027 in Cologne. Indie Arena Booth says its submissions typically open in mid-March and close around mid-April, with results at the end of April or early May. In 2026 a small booth cost EUR 3,337 and a big booth EUR 5,337. Dates for 2027 are not announced yet.
- Tokyo Game Show: September 16 to 20, 2027, per TGS. The indie area application for 2027 is not announced yet.
Already closed, or between calls
IGF 2027. Submissions to the Independent Games Festival ran from August 10 to September 13, 2026, at USD 75 per entry or USD 25 for students. Finalists are due in January 2027 and the winners on March 3, 2027, during the GDC Festival of Gaming (March 1 to 5). Dates for IGF 2028 are not announced yet.
Day of the Devs. Its submissions page says no event is taking submissions right now. It judges games on what is new, the team behind them, and how complete and playable they are. The build does not need to be public, and a selected game sends a 2 to 3 minute intro video, a trailer or gameplay footage, a fact sheet and screenshots.
What these calls ask for
Have these ready before the calls open
- A build that runs on the first try, ideally your Steam demo; our Steam demo guide covers it
- A trailer that shows play in the first seconds, plus raw gameplay footage
- A fact sheet, screenshots and a logo in one place: what a press kit needs
- A release window you can state, since eligibility can depend on it: BIG Festival only takes unreleased games or games released from April 22, 2025
How to choose
This is our view. Pick by audience before prestige. PAX East and Tokyo Game Show put you in front of players, Nordic Game and Develop in front of publishers and other developers, and Next Fest in front of Steam wishlists. Budget the cost in money and in weeks, because each event takes a build, a booth or an application, and travel. One event per quarter that matches your game beats five you cannot staff. And keep Next Fest’s once-per-game rule in mind when you plan the year around it.
These three games on IndiePump.space plan to release in 2027 and already have a demo on Steam, the kind of build these calls ask for.
2027 releases with a demo on Steam
Demo available
How IndiePump can help with festivals
Our distribution and collaborations service helps you choose which events to enter and prepare the submissions, and our PR and email outreach makes sure press hears about it when you are selected. A free press kit page on IndiePump.space gives every application one link to the game. Talk to us about your 2027 calendar.
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