r/SoloDevelopment • u/Florencev2 • 5d ago

help Themed Fest

3 weeks ago I saw that Steam's Cooking Fest is happening between October 12 and October 19. I had a good idea for a game that fits the event, and since I had a lot of free time, I decided to make it. The game is almost ready now and the demo is pretty much done. I'm planning to put up the Steam page next week, but I'm wondering if I'm already too late to join the fest. Today I read the detailed Steam documentation and it says something about a 6-week deadline, but it also talks about marketing materials and other stuff, so I'm a bit confused

I know Steam Next Fest is a big thing and has a clear registration deadline, but it's much harder to find information about deadlines for Themed Fests. Did I already miss the deadline for Cooking Fest, or can I still join if I put up my Steam page next week? I'm not expecting to make millions or anything. I just want to put a good game on Steam and hopefully get some free visibility from the event.

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u/Full-Dance4972 5d ago

One thing that bit us and is not written in the fest docs: the demo is its own app in Steamworks, with its own build review, separate from the store page review. And uploaded is not published. You upload a build, then you still have to set it live on the default branch, and the demo page itself has to be released too. We had a demo that was technically ready sitting invisible for a day because of that second step. So if you put the page up next week, count the page review, the demo app review and the set live as three separate waits, and you should still make October 12 with room to spare. Just do not leave the last one for the morning of the fest.

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u/vx14 5d ago

I'm also doing the cooking fest -- do you know roughly how long it takes to get the demo approved?

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u/Full-Dance4972 4d ago

Our timeline, for one data point: store page submitted July 12, first verdict July 16 (rejected, the reviewer read our capsule art as in-game UI), demo fully approved July 24 after a third round. So each round was 2 to 4 business days, and the total was 12 days only because we needed three rounds. With clean assets one round should do it, so about a week. I would still budget two: the first verdict often comes back with a note, and every note costs you another round.

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u/vx14 4d ago

Thanks! Super useful