FridayPlaytests · Tech tests · Open betas

№ 2 · last week · 12 to 18 October 2026

Scam With Your Friends peaked at 16,386 players at launch

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: 36; playtests and betas
tests opened: 21; tests opened
tests closed: 20; tests closed
launches with a playtest: 2; 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.

Anvil EmpiresSELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Massively Multiplayer · MMORPG · PvP

Peak 479 · 1 day read this week · 71,226 followers

132 reviews · verdict 76

Harvest Skies: Crop Dusting SimulatorPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Flight · Immersive Sim · Physics

Peak 475 · 7 days read this week · 2,112 followers

19 reviews · verdict 83

SublustrumPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Puzzle · Story Rich · Psychological Horror

Peak 466 · 8 days read this week · 5,873 followers

56 reviews · verdict 81

Scam With Your FriendsPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Online Co-Op · Artificial Intelligence · Voice Control

Peak 330 · 1 day read this week · 18,347 followers

22 reviews · verdict 72

Launched 2026-10-15

I Am PlaguePUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Incremental · Roguelite · Auto Battler

Peak 290 · 8 days read this week · 1,041 followers

99 reviews · verdict 96

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.

SublustrumPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Puzzle · Story Rich · Psychological Horror

+42 a day in the window · 8 a day before it · 5,873 followers now

Window 10-13 to 10-19 (7 days) · peak 212 players · wishlist rank 580 → 538

nanos world™SELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Sandbox · Game Development · FPS

+13 a day in the window · 6 a day before it · 1,568 followers now

Window 10-06 to 10-19 (14 days) · peak 1,636 players · wishlist rank 4095 → 3622

Wreckreation 2SELF-PUBLISHEDTECH TESTCLOSED

Racing · Combat Racing · Driving

+4 a day in the window · 2 a day before it · 1,118 followers now

Window 09-12 to 10-18 (37 days) · peak 23 players · wishlist rank 2884 → 2699

ImperialistSELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTCLOSED

Grand Strategy · 4X · Historical

+3 a day in the window · 2 a day before it · 238 followers now

Window 10-07 to 10-14 (8 days) · peak 7 players

Animal BakerySELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Shop Keeper · Management · Building

+1 a day in the window · 0 a day before it · 494 followers now

Window 10-13 to 10-19 (7 days) · peak 9 players · wishlist rank 3973 → 3934

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.

SublustrumPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Puzzle · Story Rich · Psychological Horror

Verdict 81 on 56 reviews · 5,873 followers

played verdict 82 · key-activated 100%

Harvest Skies: Crop Dusting SimulatorPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Flight · Immersive Sim · Physics

Verdict 83 on 19 reviews · 2,112 followers

played verdict n/a · key-activated 100%

Animal BakerySELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTOPEN

Shop Keeper · Management · Building

Verdict 72 on 10 reviews · 494 followers

played verdict n/a · key-activated 100%

Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 4PUBLISHEDTECH TEST

Shooter · FPS · First-Person

Launches 2026-10-22 · verdict 34 on 20,644 reviews

711,681 followers · under the bar

LoftiaSELF-PUBLISHEDTECH TEST

Life Sim · Cozy · Farming Sim

Launches 2026-11-03 · verdict 80 on 25 reviews

23,077 followers · at the bar

Probably Stolen - Cyberpunk Pawnshop SimulatorPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTEST

Shop Keeper · Cyberpunk · Inventory Management

Launches 2026-10-28 · verdict 96 on 429 reviews

15,945 followers · at the bar

Escape from PlaytimeSELF-PUBLISHEDTECH TEST

Online Co-Op · Survival Horror · Horror

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

10,496 followers · under the bar

S.O.N.A.R. - Submarine Operators Not Actually ReadySELF-PUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTEST

Co-op · Funny · Online Co-Op

Launches 2026-10-29 · verdict 90 on 67 reviews

5,166 followers · at 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.

Scam With Your FriendsPUBLISHED

Online Co-Op · Artificial Intelligence · Voice Control

est. 206,700 copies sold · peak 16,386 players

playtest verdict 67 on 18 → launch verdict 75 Mostly Positive on 2,519

Launched at 10% off

Stream TrainSELF-PUBLISHED

Online Co-Op · Horror · Funny

est. 2,600 copies sold · peak 147 players

no playtest verdict → launch verdict 45 Mixed on 89

Launched at 35% off

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.

SublustrumPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTSIGNED

Puzzle · Story Rich · Psychological Horror

Signed to HypeTrain Digital · seen Tuesday 13 October, unsigned on Monday 12 October

5,368 followers · 14 reviews · verdict 78

龙与麻雀 Dragon & MahjongPUBLISHEDSTEAM PLAYTESTSIGNED

Roguelike Deckbuilder · Card Game · Mahjong

Signed to 2P Games · seen Tuesday 13 October, unsigned on Tuesday 6 October

188 followers · 4 reviews · no verdict yet (under 10)

UNLOADEDPUBLISHEDTECH TESTSIGNED

Party Game · Physics · Funny

Signed to Alterhook · seen Tuesday 13 October, unsigned on Tuesday 6 October

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.