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Steam Next Fest Demo - Version 20 vs Version 21
Aug 17, 2026, 02:40 PM
Added 20 internal links to related pages
Aug 26, 2026, 08:17 PM
Removed a source attribution from the anti-cheat note; the fact about manual removal after uninstall is unchanged.
11Embers of the Uncrowned took part in Steam Next Fest with a free playable demo that ran from June 15 to June 22, 2026. The week-long show was the first opportunity for the public to play the game hands-on. The demo client closed when the festival ended, and the studio has said it is reviewing player feedback as it works toward the full launch.22Quick Facts44FieldDetailEventSteam Next Fest (June 2026 edition)Demo WindowJune 15 to June 22, 2026CostFreePlatformsPC via Steam (Windows 11 64-bit)Demo Steam App ID4350460 (dedicated demo store entry)LanguagesEnglish, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese (full UI, audio, subtitles)Anti-CheatNGS (Nexon Game Security), kernel-level77Pre-Download and Demo Schedule88The demo was free to download with no prior registration. Pre-download opened on June 13, and the playable window ran from June 15 at 10:00 to June 22 at 10:00 (PDT) / 17:00 (UTC). All character data and progress created during the demo were wiped before the official launch, since the demo ran on a build that is still in development.1010Pre-download was offered ahead of the event so players could jump straight in when the window opened. The schedule NEXON published is below.1212PhaseTimePre-download beginsJune 13, 2026, 18:00 PDT (June 14, 01:00 UTC)Demo opensJune 15, 2026, 10:00 PDT (17:00 UTC)Demo closesJune 22, 2026, 10:00 PDT (17:00 UTC)1414The demo can be downloaded from either the main store page or the dedicated demo page; both serve the same build. In-game voice is English only, with subtitles in English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Simplified Chinese.1515Available Regions1717The demo was available globally with several exclusions. It could not be downloaded in South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, Iran, Syria, Cuba, or parts of Ukraine (the Crimea and Donbas regions). The South Korea exclusion is consistent with the game's store page and official site being region-restricted there.1919After the Demo2121The demo officially concluded on June 22, 2026 at 17:00 (UTC) / 10:00 (PDT), and the demo client is no longer accessible. The development team thanked players for the turnout and said every piece of feedback would be reviewed in full as the game moves toward release. A post-demo developer note flagged camera perspective, UI convenience, and controls as the most commonly raised pain points and named them the team's top priority for the first round of improvements.2323A demo feedback survey remained open after the client closed, running until June 27, 2026 at 07:00 (UTC) / 00:00 (PDT) for players who logged in with the Steam account they used during the demo. The studio said ongoing communication with players would continue through its official Discord and future developer notes. For the specific changes the team committed to, see the planned improvements covered on the Combat page.2525What Is Steam Next Fest2727Steam Next Fest is a recurring multi-day event on Steam that gathers free demos for upcoming PC titles. Each participating game publishes a separate demo entry that can be installed during the event and uninstalled afterward. The event is meant to give players a hands-on preview and to give developers a window of focused community feedback.3030Embers of the Uncrowned uses a dedicated demo store page (Steam app 4350460) separate from the main store page (Steam app 3767660). Both carried a Coming Soon status until the demo opened, and the demo entry stopped accepting installs once the festival closed.3232Demo Content3434The demo offers substantial scope for a pre-launch preview. Confirmed demo build numbers include:3636CategoryDemo ContentEstimated Playtime (Main Story)Roughly 180 minutesEstimated Playtime (Completion)More than 480 minutes for max progressionClass Skills28 to 29 active and passive skills per class, across all three classesStory Chapters3 main chaptersSide Quests34Boss Encounters12 (including Domain Bosses, Field Bosses, Defense of Spring battles, and raid encounters)Main Regions3Liberatable Areas10Companion Skills17 (Eslyn, affinity-based questlines)Building Types7 (crafting, enhancement, research, trading)Costume Sets12Mounts193838Playable Classes3939All three confirmed classes are playable in the demo. The Executioner (heavy two-handed axe, Rage and Fury, Physical and Fire). The Spectral Blade (dual blades, Shade and Phantoms, Physical and Darkness). The Stormbringer (compact storm orb, Aeroenergy and Overload, Wind and Lightning). NEXON put the demo kit at 28 to 29 active and passive skills per class, split across each class's two elemental paths and reshaped through the Trait system.4141The Bella Fight4343Bella is the centerpiece boss of the demo. The dev team has described the demo Bella fight as a tutorial of the game's core combat systems (Spell Interruption, the Stagger System, and SP-based evasion). When players face her again later in the campaign, she will reveal her true power and deliver a battle on a completely different level.4545Companions and Settlement in the Demo4747Eslyn Ambertail is the demo's confirmed companion. She arrives with 17 companion skills tied to an affinity-based questline, and her personal story (rescuing her at the succession ceremony, building trust as she joins the rebuilding effort) is a significant narrative arc within the demo's content scope.4949The settlement layer is playable in the demo with 7 building types tied to crafting, enhancement, research, and trading. Companions can be deployed to the settlement to run operations, so the demo gives a taste of both the action and management halves of the game's loop.5151The development team has confirmed that in the demo the player governs two domains and liberates regions across Amber Coast, the first settlement of House Harborwell, and the neighboring magical city of Towerstead. The seven building types map to the Headquarters, Forge, Trading Post, Resource Station, Magic Laboratory, Workshop, and Stable.5353Wishlist Event: Ocean-Blue Nostalgia Costume5555Wishlisting Embers of the Uncrowned on Steam granted an in-game cosmetic in the demo: the Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume. The reward was tied to the wishlist event window. NEXON's post-festival recap refers to the same demo outfit as the Blue Wave Nostalgia Top and Bottom, so both names describe one costume.5757Event DetailValueEvent NameWishlist Event: Join the EmbersRewardOcean-Blue Nostalgia costume (granted in the demo)Event StartApril 22, 19:00 PDT / 02:00 UTCEvent EndJune 15, 10:00 PDT / 17:00 UTCClaim MethodPosted on the Steam News Hub and Discord at the event end5959Wishlist Event: Cloudfur Cottonsloth Mount6060A second wishlist event ran ahead of the demo, from June 9, 18:00 PDT to June 15, 18:00 PDT. Players who added the game to their Steam wishlist, joined the official Discord, and posted a screenshot of their wishlisted status in the event channel received a "Cloudfur Cottonsloth" Mount, distributed at the start of the demo. The terms stated that if total wishlist verifications passed 100, every demo participant would receive the mount.6262Anti-Cheat and AI Content6464The demo ran NGS (Nexon Game Security), a kernel-level anti-cheat. Players should be aware that NGS requires manual removal after uninstall, per the Steam store page.65+The demo ran NGS (Nexon Game Security), a kernel-level anti-cheat. Players should be aware that NGS requires manual removal after uninstall.6666The demo carries the same AI-content disclosure as the full game: AI-based tools may be utilized to support in-game visual content creation, marketing materials, live chat translation features, and partial in-game dialogue and script localization.6868System Requirements Summary7070The demo ran on the same minimum and recommended specifications listed on the main store page. A full breakdown lives on the System Requirements page; the short version:7272TierCPURAMGPUStorageMinimumIntel Core i5-3570 or AMD FX-83508 GBGeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580 or Intel Arc A38030 GBRecommendedIntel Core i5-9600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X16 GBGeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 5700 XT or Intel Arc A77030 GB7474Both tiers require 64-bit Windows 11, DirectX 11, and the kernel-level NGS anti-cheat driver. Players should expect the anti-cheat to install on first launch and may need to reboot before the demo can start.7575Steam Next Fest In-Game Events7777The demo launched with a slate of time-limited in-game events that ran for the festival window. All play records and rewards earned during the demo were reset before the official launch, so these are a preview of the reward systems rather than permanent progress.7979EventWhat It AsksSample RewardsDisciples of the Mad MoonSurvive three trials: liberate all regions, defeat the Man-Faced Insect, and clear the dungeon on Hard.The Moonlight Madness costume set (Helm, Outfit, Cape).Harbinger of VengeanceComplete daily battlefield tasks: hunt monsters and reclaim occupied lands. Rewards unlock stage by stage.Daily and cumulative mounts and costume sets.Daily Check-InLog in each day of the event period.Skill Gem ore, mounts, and costumes across five days.A True BeginningReaches Level 20, then take on Field Suppression Requests, Dynasty's Tomb, Defense of the Spring, Domain Boss, and Ruins of War.High-tier enhancement materials per challenge.8181A separate set of Discord community events ran alongside the in-game ones, including a Photo Mode character showcase, an Epic Quest clear-on-Hard challenge, and a Hall of the Throne speedrun. Players who logged into the demo for two consecutive days earn a limited title and the Demon Warrior Costume, both delivered to the account at the official launch.8282What Has Not Been Confirmed8484Several details that players regularly ask about remain unannounced:8686DetailStatusEngineNot publicly disclosed. Treat any third-party claim of a specific engine as speculation.Full release dateNo launch year, quarter, or window has been given. The demo is the only firm date on the calendar.Free-to-play statusThe team has committed to a non-pay-to-win monetization model and confirmed that gear, progression items, and essential consumables are obtainable through gameplay. Whether the base game itself will be free-to-play, buy-to-play, or use another model has not been confirmed.Console releaseA console version has been described as a possibility but is not confirmed. The demo is PC-only via Steam.NEXON internal studio attributionNo subsidiary or internal studio name has been disclosed for the project.8888Patches During the Demo Week8989The demo did not sit still for its seven days. The team shipped three hotfixes and two maintenance windows inside the demo period, and the June 19 maintenance in particular changed how the game felt to play rather than only fixing faults.9191DateTypeWhat ChangedJune 16HotfixCorrected a Realm character-limit error message, a mislabelled Party Invite button, and an item-drop sound option that displayed OFF/OFF instead of ON/OFF.June 17HotfixAddressed intermittent client crashes and general stability.June 17Hotfix #2Fixed intermittent crashes when moving during a Buff Shrine interaction and when warping during a skill cooldown.June 19MaintenanceCombat, camera, and progression pass. Evasion and basic-attack speed and delay were adjusted across all classes, SP recovery was raised to match the faster evasion, the evade zoom-in was removed for the Executioner and Spectral Blade, the default camera field of view was widened, a camera rotation-speed slider was added, three new Bloodlines were added (one at each Bloodline level), and new Challenges were introduced. The Trading Post merchant began selling extra Talent points as a temporary demo-only concession.June 19Emergency maintenanceResolved a fault blocking item purchases in the shop. Compensation went out to every player.9393One server, DE01, drew its own notice on June 16 for a connection issue producing error codes -68 and -70. The team also confirmed it applies no region-specific access restrictions to Russia, and that connection errors reported from some Russian regions were under investigation.9494Demo by the Numbers9696Roughly five weeks after the festival closed, NEXON published a recap of what the eight-day demo actually produced. The figures below are the studio's own, taken from that recap. They are a snapshot of a temporary build with reset progress rather than live-service statistics, but they are the only public numbers on how the demo performed.9898MeasureResultSteam Next Fest streaming chartRanked first on June 16, 2026Peak concurrent players9,369, fifth-highest of the festivalCumulative wishlists183,972 as of the festival's final dayPlayers who reached Goldenhaven98,211Players who hit the demo progress cap16,176Followers recruited into player Houses505,999100100NEXON framed the concurrent-player figure as fifth place at what it called the largest Steam Next Fest held to date.101101Class Popularity103103Every demo character counted toward a class split. The recap notes that the percentages add up to slightly more than 100 because each figure is rounded independently.105105ClassShare of charactersMost-used skillsSpectral Blade43.8%Spinning Slash (Dark), Spinning Slash (Physical), Phantom CloneStormbringer38.3%Raging Storm, Thunderbolt, Lightning VolleyExecutioner18.3%Axe of Repentance, Whirlwind, Flame Execution107107The skill data points at a clear build preference inside each class. Executioners leaned hardest into fire builds anchored by Axe of Repentance. Stormbringers split between wind builds centered on Raging Storm and lightning builds driven by Thunderbolt and Lightning Volley. Spectral Blades converged on a single dominant pairing of Spinning Slash and Phantom Clone, with both the Dark and Physical versions of Spinning Slash in heavy use.108108Most-Killed Enemies110110Four enemies were called out by total kills across the festival. The gap between the roaming field threats and the named bosses is a fair proxy for how much time players spent in open regions versus set-piece encounters.112112EnemyTimes defeatedGolden Bogart254,431Elven Assassins141,186Bella73,139Captain Sinclair7,764114114Item and Cosmetic Records115115[Flame] Valiant Commander's Chain was the standout legendary, equipped by 157,894 players.Earrings of Fortune got a wry mention for how rarely monsters part with it. The recap puts it at 570 for the whole festival.Blue Wave Nostalgia Top and Bottom was named the season's breakout look, still worn at the close of the demo by 7,786 players.117117Realms119119The recap's leaderboards are split by realm, confirming that the demo ran on separate regional realms rather than one shared world. Realms named on the boards are DE, BZ, HK and US. Top Combat Power on those boards clustered between roughly 3,280 and 3,370, which gives a rough ceiling for what a player could reach inside the demo's progression cap.121121NEXON closed the recap by thanking players and saying the team would return with a more complete game, with no date attached.123123What Carried Over and What Did Not125125NEXON was explicit on this point, and it cuts both ways. All play records and rewards earned during the demo were reset before the official launch build. Characters, levels, gear, settlement progress, and mounts earned in the demo do not travel. What does travel is a small set of event rewards that were deliberately promised for delivery at official launch: the wishlist costume, and the title and costume from the login-streak event. NEXON also stated that those launch-delivered rewards will be obtainable through other future events, so missing the demo window does not lock them away permanently.127127Tips for Players129129Wishlisting the main store page before June 15, 10:00 PDT was the way to claim the Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume in the demo.Keep at least 30 GB of free storage on the drive where you install Steam games; the demo build matches the full game's listed storage requirement.The playable window ran from June 15 to June 22. Steam Next Fest demos are typically removed from the store when the festival ends, and the cosmetic reward window closed with it.Try more than one class if time allows. Switching between Spectral Blade, Executioner, and Stormbringer is the fastest way to feel out which playstyle suits you ahead of full release. Each arrived with 28 to 29 active and passive skills in this build.Build affinity with Eslyn through her affinity-based questline. The demo contains a significant arc with her, and her 17 companion skills unlock as affinity grows.Try the Bella fight more than once with different classes. The dev team has positioned the encounter as a teaching boss for Spell Interruption, the Stagger System, and SP-based evasion; you will get more out of it on a second run.Provide feedback through the official channels the dev team points to in their demo announcement. The team has explicitly stated that the demo is intended to gather honest feedback that will help raise the game to a higher level of polish.131131How to Participate133133Official channels for demo news now include TikTok and Twitch in addition to the existing X, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and website presences. Feedback and bug reports during the demo go through the official Discord.135135Adding Embers of the Uncrowned to a Steam wishlist before the wishlist event ended (June 15, 10:00 PDT) qualified players for the Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume.During the demo window (June 15 to June 22), the demo was available to install from the Steam store page's Coming Soon entry.The dev team welcomes feedback through the Steam News Hub and the official Discord.137137Related139139Embers of the UncrownedGetting StartedPlatforms and ReleaseSystem RequirementsClassesCombatBellaEslynSettlement Building
