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Steam Next Fest Demo
June 26, 2026 at 06:24 AM
Removed duplicate in-body wikilinks
Embers 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.
Field | Detail |
|---|---|
Event | Steam Next Fest (June 2026 edition) |
Demo Window | June 15 to June 22, 2026 |
Cost | Free |
Platforms | PC via Steam (Windows 11 64-bit) |
Demo Steam App ID | 4350460 (dedicated demo store entry) |
Languages | English, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Simplified Chinese (full UI, audio, subtitles) |
Anti-Cheat | NGS (Nexon Game Security), kernel-level |
The 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.
The demo can be pre-downloaded ahead of the event so players can jump straight in when it opens. The official schedule is below.
Phase | Time |
|---|---|
Pre-download begins | June 13, 2026, 18:00 PDT (June 14, 01:00 UTC) |
Demo opens | June 15, 2026, 10:00 PDT (17:00 UTC) |
Demo closes | June 22, 2026, 10:00 PDT (17:00 UTC) |
The 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.
The demo is available globally with several exclusions. It cannot 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.
The 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.
A 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.
Steam 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.
Embers of the Uncrowned uses a dedicated demo store page (Steam app 4350460) separate from the main store page (Steam app 3767660). Both pages are listed as Coming Soon until the demo opens.
The demo offers substantial scope for a pre-launch preview. Confirmed demo build numbers include:
Category | Demo Content |
|---|---|
Estimated Playtime (Main Story) | Roughly 180 minutes |
Estimated Playtime (Completion) | More than 480 minutes for max progression |
Story Chapters | 3 main chapters |
Side Quests | 34 |
Boss Encounters | 12 (including Domain Bosses, Field Bosses, Defense of Spring battles, and raid encounters) |
Main Regions | 3 |
Liberatable Areas | 10 |
Active and Passive Skills per Class | 28 to 29 |
Companion Skills | 17 (Eslyn, affinity-based questlines) |
Building Types | 7 (crafting, enhancement, research, trading) |
Costume Sets | 12 |
Mounts | 19 |
All 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). Each class brings 28 to 29 active and passive skills in this build, more than enough to start exploring the Trait-system specialization paths.
Bella 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.
Eslyn 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.
The 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.
The 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.
Wishlisting Embers of the Uncrowned on Steam grants an in-game cosmetic in the upcoming demo: the Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume. The reward is tied to the wishlist event window.
Event Detail | Value |
|---|---|
Event Name | Wishlist Event: Join the Embers |
Reward | Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume (granted in the demo) |
Event Start | April 22, 19:00 PDT / 02:00 UTC |
Event End | June 15, 10:00 PDT / 17:00 UTC |
Claim Method | Posted on the Steam News Hub and Discord at the event end |
A second wishlist event runs ahead of the demo. Players who add the game to their Steam wishlist, join the official Discord, and post a screenshot of their wishlisted status in the event channel receive a "Cloudfur Cottonsloth" Mount, distributed at the start of the demo. If total wishlist verifications pass 100, every demo participant receives the mount. The event runs from June 9, 18:00 PDT to June 15, 18:00 PDT.
The demo runs 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.
The 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.
The demo runs 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:
Tier | CPU | RAM | GPU | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Minimum | Intel Core i5-3570 or AMD FX-8350 | 8 GB | GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon RX 580 or Intel Arc A380 | 30 GB |
Recommended | Intel Core i5-9600 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | 16 GB | GeForce RTX 2060 or Radeon RX 5700 XT or Intel Arc A770 | 30 GB |
Both 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.
The demo launched with a slate of time-limited in-game events that run for the festival window. All play records and rewards earned during the demo are reset before the official launch, so these are a preview of the reward systems rather than permanent progress.
Event | What It Asks | Sample Rewards |
|---|---|---|
Disciples of the Mad Moon | Survive 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 Vengeance | Complete daily battlefield tasks: hunt monsters and reclaim occupied lands. Rewards unlock stage by stage. | Daily and cumulative mounts and costume sets. |
Daily Check-In | Log in each day of the event period. | Skill Gem ore, mounts, and costumes across five days. |
A True Beginning | Reaches 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. |
A 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.
Several details that players regularly ask about remain unannounced:
Detail | Status |
|---|---|
Engine | Not publicly disclosed. Treat any third-party claim of a specific engine as speculation. |
Full release date | No launch year, quarter, or window has been given. The demo is the only firm date on the calendar. |
Free-to-play status | The 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 release | A console version has been described as a possibility but is not confirmed. The demo is PC-only via Steam. |
Demo carry-over | Whether character progress made during the demo carries over to the full release has not been stated. Only the cosmetic reward has been confirmed to transfer. |
NEXON internal studio attribution | No subsidiary or internal studio name has been disclosed for the project. |
Wishlist the main store page before June 15, 10:00 PDT 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.
Reserve some time inside the June 15 to June 22 window. Steam Next Fest demos are typically removed from the store when the festival ends, so the cosmetic reward window closes 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 is rolled out 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.
Official 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.
Add Embers of the Uncrowned to your Steam wishlist before the wishlist event ends (June 15, 10:00 PDT) to qualify for the Ocean-Blue Nostalgia costume.
Visit the Steam store page during the demo window (June 15 to June 22) and install the demo from the Coming Soon entry.
The dev team welcomes feedback through the Steam News Hub and the official Discord.
Embers of the Uncrowned
System Requirements
Combat
Bella
Eslyn
Settlement Building
