FIRESTARTERS Steam Next Fest: Trailer, Demo Status, and Every Game Mode

FIRESTARTERS at Steam Next Fest: What You Can Actually Play Now

FIRESTARTERS made its pitch during Steam Next Fest with an official trailer published by developer Studio Kerosene, and the question players keep asking is simple: what can you actually play today? The short answer is that the Next Fest–era demo is gone — it was delisted from Steam when the game launched into Early Access on October 28, 2026 — and the build that replaced it ships with two distinct modes. Below is a breakdown of Story Mode, Arcade Mode, and what the festival trailer did and did not confirm.

The trailer is real, the demo is not

A verified YouTube upload titled "FIRESTARTERS - Official Steam Next Fest Trailer" appears on the Studio Kerosene channel. That title and channel are the confirmed details; no shot-by-shot breakdown or transcript is available in the source material, so treat any viral "frame-by-frame analysis" you see elsewhere with suspicion.

The demo itself is a separate story. In a Steam community notice, the studio explained that the demo had been live "for some time" and had served its purpose, but no longer represented the quality of the Early Access release. It was therefore removed from the storefront on launch day.

Don't assume the demo equals the release

If you played a build during the festival window, you played an older slice. The studio's own notice draws a direct line between the demo's retirement and the quality gap between it and Episode One. The current Early Access version is the reference point, not the demo.

The Two Modes Included in Episode One

The initial Early Access release is Episode One, and it contains two modes rather than one. Story Mode delivers the first part of the main narrative, while Arcade Mode is an unlockable score-attack layer built on top of the same combat arenas. Both run on the same base gameplay, story, and combat systems, which the developers describe as complete and functional while still subject to change as new content is developed.

How Arcade Mode Turns Storms Into Leaderboard Runs

Arcade Mode is where the "modes" question gets interesting for score chasers. After you complete a Storm for the first time in the story, that Storm becomes available in Arcade Mode, where each attempt is graded and recorded. Beat your personal best, then beat your Steam friends, then aim at the global leaderboard.

The design philosophy backs this up. STEEL spectators in the game's fiction won't tolerate stagnation — clearing a Storm is treated as the bare minimum, with faster kills and higher scores framed as the real measure of a competitor. That fiction maps directly onto the mode's structure: survival is the entry fee, scoring is the point.

No pickups changes how both modes play

There are no health, armor, or ammunition pickups in a STEEL arena. Instead, you take what you need from defeated androids, which pushes aggressive play across both Story and Arcade runs. Kera's kit includes six weapons, a performance-enhancing battlesuit, and rocket skates used to skate, slide, grind, and ground pound through each arena. Lead developer Alex Harte put it plainly in the announcement coverage: there are no safety nets, and hunting is the path to survival.

What Comes After Episode One

Episode One is the first of four planned "Episodes" — major content releases — scheduled before version 1.0. The studio estimates Early Access will run roughly 18 to 24 months, with story and gameplay content arriving episodically alongside improvements to existing content. The plan is explicitly subject to change.

Pricing works in the player's favor early. FIRESTARTERS is listed at $9.99, and the developers have said the price will gradually rise as new content ships. Anyone who buys during Early Access receives all subsequent content updates before full release at no extra cost.

A note on how it's built

FIRESTARTERS runs on a custom in-house engine, which the studio says means no hard drive bloat, no AI upscalers, and no shader compilation stuttering. The store page also states plainly that no generative AI tools were used in its creation. If performance is a deciding factor for you, the minimum spec calls for a 4-core CPU and 2 GB of RAM, with a 6-core CPU recommended — and the developers note those requirements are not final.

For the authoritative version of all of the above, see FIRESTARTERS on the Steam store. The launch details and Harte's quote were first reported by MonsterVine's Early Access announcement coverage, and the festival trailer is hosted on the Studio Kerosene YouTube channel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the FIRESTARTERS Steam Next Fest demo still downloadable? No. The demo was officially delisted from the Steam Store alongside the Early Access launch on October 28, 2026. The developers stated that it no longer reflected the quality of the release build, so there is no legitimate way to play that older slice now — the Early Access version is the replacement.

Which modes are in the game right now? Two: Story Mode, containing the first part of the main narrative in Episode One, and Arcade Mode, which unlocks after you clear a Storm in the story and lets you chase high scores on global leaderboards.

Does Arcade Mode have global leaderboards? Yes. The Steam page describes Arcade Mode as a place to compete for high scores on global leaderboards, with Steam friends as an intermediate target before you push for the worldwide ranking.

Will more modes be added before 1.0? Four Episodes are planned in total, with three still to come after Episode One, delivered as free updates for Early Access buyers. The studio has not committed to a fixed schedule and notes the episode count could change, so treat mode additions beyond Story and Arcade as unconfirmed until announced.