Steam Next Fest hasn't even started yet, but apparently the frontrunner in terms of early data is a little indie castle builder called Tiny Glade, and a developer working on a separate game is loving the irony.
The irony, of course, being the fact that out of presumably thousands of games being showcased during the June 2024 Steam Next Fest, the one apparently with the most buzz around it has been described by its developer as "a small relaxing game about doodling castles." Personally, I've been absolutely psyched about Tiny Glade since its gameplay trailer at the Future Games Show, and thus completely understand why it's such a big deal ahead of Steam Next Fest, but I also get that it's deeply funny regardless.
"Next Fest hasn't started yet, but there's a way to preview the rankings, and I love that the juggernaut game we're all dwarfed by, the baddest motherfucker in the room, is Tiny Glade," Tom Francis, creator of Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizard said in a tweet. "A delightful toy where you just draw a lovely little castle and admire it."
Francis added, "It looks great."
David Ortiz, COO over at ICO Partners, pointed out that Tiny Glade is on "over 800k Wishlists, no big deal."
It's unclear exactly which metric Francis is referring to that Tiny Glade is dominating, but 800,000 Steam Wishlists is indeed quite an accomplishment for a little indie game.
If you want to see what all the hype is about ahead of time, you can actually download Tiny Glade's Steam demo now. I tinkered with the builder for a little bit this evening and found it supremely relaxing and surprisingly smooth for an early build. With enough success, maybe we'll get Big Glade in the future and it'll be this massive city builder, or maybe just Slightly Less Tiny Glade to keep the vibes consistent.
Steam Next Fest starts June 10 at 10am PST and ends at the same time on June 17.
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