Steam is offering players the opportunity to play more than 40 games that were supposed to appear at GDC 2020, with its Spring Edition of the Game Festival.
GDC 2020 might not be happening, but with the help of Steam’s Game Festival, everyone can get their hands on several dozen games that were supposed to appear at the show. This free initiative will ensure game developers can get word out about their products and give players a chance to see what’s coming down the pipeline.
Steam Game Festival Spring Edition
In a surprise announcement on Twitter, The Game Festival revealed some details about this special event. The Spring Edition launches tomorrow, Wednesday, March 18, at 10:00AM PT / 1:00PM ET. This will allow players to download – for free – over 40 games that were originally going to be revealed and playable at GDC 2020.
The Spring edition of @thegamefestival launches tomorrow at 10AM PT on @Steam Play and download for free first-look versions of over 40+ games originally set for GDC 2020 pic.twitter.com/WG3vBHzts9
— The Game Festival (@thegamefestival) March 17, 2020
This is a great moment for developers and gamers alike. Usually, getting to GDC is a big deal, involving a lot of planning, preparation, and of course money. This unfortunately means some smaller studios and teams simply cannot afford to be there in person to show their wares. Now, thanks to the Game Festival, more than 40 games will be in the hands of players.
The Game Festival was first run in December 2019 during The Game Awards. This gave players a sneak peek at 14 titles including Moving Out, SkateBIRD, CARRION, System Shock, and more.
Players that want to get in on this opportunity will want to check out the Steam Game Festival Spring Edition page when the event goes live on March 18. The entire event will conclude Monday, March 23, at 10AM PT. This gives players a little under a week to experience a ton of games that unfortunately weren’t otherwise going to be seen at event showcases.
The Steam Game Festival Spring Edition couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only is it helping the many developers that rely on conferences and events, but it’s just one more thing for people to do while self-isolating during this coronavirus pandemic.