Steam is Already Planning Your 2026 Game Purchases
Just as we’re sweating our way through the summer of 2025, Valve has decided to look deep into the future and give us all a crystal-clear vision of our impending financial ruin. In a surprisingly early announcement aimed at helping developers plan ahead, Steam has unveiled its entire official event schedule for the first half of 2026. For us, it’s less about planning and more like a beautifully organized calendar of future temptations for our ever-growing backlogs.
Spotlight on the Spotlights
Alongside the usual seasonal sales and themed festivals, Valve announced they are experimenting with a new format called "Spotlight-Events." These are shorter, more focused events designed to shine a light on very specific, often niche, genres. So if you’ve been waiting for the definitive "Festival of Horse Games" or "Festival of Hidden Object Games," your oddly specific prayers have apparently been answered.
The 2026 Gauntlet: A Full Schedule
So, what exactly does this roadmap of discounts and demos look like for the first six months of 2026? Get your calendars ready. Here’s the full breakdown, month by month.
January 2026 Festival of Detective Games: Jan 12 – 19 Festival of Board Games: Jan 26 – Feb 2
February 2026 (Spotlight) Festival of Keyboard Games: Feb 5 – 9 Festival of PvP Games: Feb 9 – 16 (Spotlight) Festival of Horse Games: Feb 19 – 23 Steam Next Fest: Feb 23 – Mar 2
March 2026 Festival of Tower-Defense Games: Mar 9 – 16 Steam Spring Sale: Mar 19 – 26 Festival of Household Games: Mar 30 – Apr 6
April 2026 (Spotlight) Festival of Hidden Object Games: Apr 9 – 13 Festival of Medieval Games: Apr 20 – 27
May 2026 Festival of Deckbuilding Games: May 4 – 11 Festival of Ocean Games: May 18 – 25
Don't Forget About This Year
While it’s nice to plan for 2026, there are still plenty of sales coming to drain your bank account in 2025. The schedule for the rest of this year includes the Steam Autumn Sale, which Valve notes has a different timeframe this year, running from September 29 to October 6. That's followed by the October edition of Steam Next Fest and the annual Steam Scream Festival for Halloween, before the big Winter Sale kicks off on December 18.
With the dates now public knowledge well into next year, there’s no excuse for being caught off guard. It's time to start making a budget, or at the very least, clearing some hard drive space for the inevitable damage.