It’s that time of year again, folks: The final Steam Next Fest of 2026 is now upon us. I’ve done a bit of digging through the deluge of game demos and found a selection I think I’ll enjoy covering. I thought I’d start us off with something on the quicker, more easily digestible side: Warhammer Survivors, developed and published by Auroch Digital. Warhammer Survivors does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a Vampire Survivors-like set within Games Workshop’s Warhammer IP. In the current demo version of Warhammer Survivors, you can choose between playing in the Warhammer 40K universe or the Age of Sigmar universe.

I have neither the requisite knowledge nor the time to get into the differences between the two. As a very brief primer, all you need to know is that the Age of Sigmar universe is the more high-fantasy setting of the two, while 40K is the futuristic sci-fi universe. More bluntly, 40K is the one with the Space Marines. In Warhammer Survivors, your chosen setting affects what sorts of weapons your character can use and what types of enemies you’ll have to survive against. You’ll be up against waves of Tyranids in 40K, and you’ll face the Skaven in Age of Sigmar.

In the current demo version of Warhammer Survivors, the only character you can play as at first in the 40K setting is Malum Caedo, the Space Marine who’s also the player character in both Warhammer 40K: Boltgun titles. I guess when he’s not busy taking the starring role in a pair of retro-style boomer shooters or purging heretics with the power of aggressively typing at them, he still needs to just plain survive. Warhammer Survivors’ Steam Store page claims that the full game will have “over 40 iconic champions” to play as, though it’s unclear how that number is split between both universes.

Despite the massive popularity of games of this ilk, I suppose it’s unwise to assume everyone knows what they are and how they’re meant to be played, so I’ll explain a bit. Your main objective, as the genre and its namesake both imply, is to survive for as long as you can amidst progressively larger and more intense waves of enemies. The more enemies you kill, the more experience points you’ll collect as they drop from slain enemies. In turn, the more you level up after collecting certain amounts of experience points, the more perks and new weapons you’ll gain during the current run.

You’re also encouraged to explore each level as best you can, in search of both currency you can spend on permanent upgrades between runs and optional side objectives. Side objectives include rescuing (and, thus, unlocking) new characters, as well as filling you in on more of the lore in your chosen Warhammer universe. I can definitely see myself getting somewhat addicted to Warhammer Survivors once the full version launches, just as I’m known to do with several of its peers in the genre. At the time of writing, Warhammer Survivors is currently planned to launch on Steam on November 10th, 2026.

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