FridayPlaytests · Tech tests · Open betas

№ 1 · last week · 5 to 11 October 2026

Permafrost's playtest peaked at 2,249. Its launch hit 7,049.

Every playtest, tech test and open beta on Steam last week, read morning and evening while the window was open. Below: the tests that drew the biggest crowds, the ones that created demand, what the testers made of them, what launched off a test, and who got signed.

playtests and betas: 53; playtests and betas
tests opened: 24; tests opened
tests closed: 19; tests closed
launches with a playtest: 6; launches with a playtest

Top CCU

The tests that drew the biggest crowds this week. CCU is the most people playing the test at the same moment, from two readings a day. Three kinds of test: a Steam Playtest, where players request access on the store page; a tech test, where keys are handed out off Steam; and an open beta, which anyone can install. Open or closed shows whether the test is running now. A week count means the test was here before and its number moved a lot.

March of GiantsPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

MOBA · PvP · RTS

Peak 2,835 · 5 days read this week · 9,232 followers

70 reviews · verdict 48

nanos world™SELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Sandbox · Game Development · FPS

Peak 1,502 · 7 days read this week · 1,488 followers

4 reviews · no verdict yet (under 10)

PermafrostPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTCLOSED2ND WEEK

Online Co-Op · Open World Survival Craft · Survival

Peak 1,294 · 2 days read this week · 53,398 followers

324 reviews · verdict 72

Launched 2026-10-09

I Am PlaguePUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Incremental · Roguelite · Auto Battler

Peak 782 · 7 days read this week · 1,041 followers

68 reviews · verdict 95

SACRATASELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTCLOSED

Bullet Heaven · Loot · RPG

Peak 666 · 7 days read this week · 7,124 followers

28 reviews · verdict 53

Demand created

Did the test win the game new fans? We compare how fast a game gained followers while its test was open with how fast it gained them in the four weeks before. A big jump means the test itself drew people in, however many testers were let in. Wishlist rank is the game's place on Steam's most-wishlisted list, before the test and now; a lower number is better. Ranked by the jump.

ORMOD: DirectiveSELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTCLOSED2ND WEEK

Survival · Realistic · Logic

+349 a day in the window · 16 a day before it · 21,430 followers now

Window 10-01 to 10-05 (5 days) · peak 1,514 players · wishlist rank 220 → 195

SACRATASELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTCLOSED

Bullet Heaven · Loot · RPG

+193 a day in the window · 13 a day before it · 7,124 followers now

Window 10-04 to 10-11 (8 days) · peak 666 players · wishlist rank 1007 → 698

SOMBRAS: negative framesPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Psychological Horror · Female Protagonist · Story Rich

+24 a day in the window · 3 a day before it · 692 followers now

Window 10-07 to 10-12 (6 days) · peak 1 players · wishlist rank 4100 → 3244

nanos world™SELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Sandbox · Game Development · FPS

+11 a day in the window · 6 a day before it · 1,488 followers now

Window 10-06 to 10-12 (7 days) · peak 1,502 players · wishlist rank 4095 → 3898

Melvor Idle 2SELF-PUBLISHEDTECH TESTOPEN

RPG · Idler · Moddable

+17 a day in the window · 14 a day before it · 11,706 followers now

Window 09-29 to 10-12 (14 days) · peak 277 players · wishlist rank 377 → 364

Verdicts

What testers think of the test. Verdict is a cautious 0 to 100 score of how positive a test's own reviews are, shown once it has ten; 70 or more is what Steam calls Positive. It tends to hold at launch: a Positive test launched Positive 82% of the time, one under 70 only 28%. Played verdict counts only testers who played for at least an hour. Key-activated is the share of reviewers who got the test free, which for playtests is nearly all of them. Below: tests that reached a Positive verdict this week, then tests with a launch date coming up.

I Am PlaguePUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Incremental · Roguelite · Auto Battler

Verdict 95 on 68 reviews · 1,041 followers

played verdict 94 · key-activated 100%

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4PUBLISHEDTECH TEST

Shooter · FPS · First-Person

Launches 2026-10-22 · verdict 34 on 20,676 reviews

711,681 followers · under the bar

Scam With Your FriendsPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTEST

Online Co-Op · Artificial Intelligence · Voice Control

Launches 2026-10-15 · verdict 67 on 18 reviews

13,102 followers · under the bar

Escape from PlaytimeSELF-PUBLISHEDTECH TEST

Online Co-Op · Survival Horror · Horror

Launches 2026-10-21 · verdict 69 on 147 reviews

10,169 followers · under the bar

Remothered: Red Nun's LegacyPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTEST

Survival Horror · Psychological Horror · Female Protagonist

Launches 2026-10-27 · verdict 60 on 10 reviews

4,169 followers · under the bar

Hell WaitSELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTEST

Roguelike · Roguelike Deckbuilder · Deckbuilding

Launches 2026-11-09 · verdict 60 on 10 reviews

263 followers · under the bar

Launched, with a playtest behind them

Games with a playtest that went on sale last week. Copies sold is an estimate based on the game's reviews; a figure confirmed by the publisher shows first when there is one. Peak is the most people playing at once since launch. The arrow shows whether opinion held up: the testers' verdict against the full game's verdict now.

AION 2

Massively Multiplayer · MMORPG · RPG

est. 3,180,500 copies sold · peak 384,657 players

playtest verdict 63 on 192 → launch verdict 58 Mixed on 26,064

Launched at full price

Gears of War: E-DayPUBLISHED

Shooter · Gore · Horror

est. 291,100 copies sold · peak 22,501 players

playtest verdict 64 on 406 → launch verdict 73 Mostly Positive on 8,459

Launched at full price

PermafrostPUBLISHED

Online Co-Op · Open World Survival Craft · Survival

est. 28,900 copies sold · peak 7,049 players

playtest verdict 72 on 327 → launch verdict 71 Mostly Positive on 998

Launched at 20% off

CatPokerSELF-PUBLISHED

Party Game · Roguelite · Card Game

est. 2,100 copies sold · peak 76 players

no playtest verdict → launch verdict 88 Positive on 44

Launched at full price

Glory To The Heroes™SELF-PUBLISHED

FPS · Wargame · Immersive Sim

est. 1,700 copies sold · peak 121 players

playtest verdict 37 on 343 → launch verdict 65 Mostly Positive on 126

Launched at 10% off

What’s Wrong with My Drawing?PUBLISHED

RPG · Action RPG · Hack and Slash

est. 100 copies sold · peak 6 players

no playtest verdict → launch verdict pending

Launched at full price

Signed

Games with a playtest that found a publisher last week. We check every one every day. Seen is the first day the publisher was on the store page; unsigned on is the last day it was not. The publisher was added somewhere in between.

FROG IN THE HOLE!PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTSIGNED

Incremental · Physics · Automation

Signed to Catoptric Games · seen Sunday 11 October, unsigned on Sunday 4 October

108 followers · 9 reviews · verdict 72

How to HuntPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTSIGNED

Online Co-Op · Funny · Shooter

Signed to Polden Publishing · seen Wednesday 7 October, unsigned on Wednesday 30 September

no community group · no reviews yet

Followers, rising

Unreleased games picking up followers faster than usual. Followers are the best early sign we have of sales. Each card shows new followers a day this week, the game's usual daily pace before that, and how many times faster this week was. The percentage is how fast the game is growing for its size.