‘House Flipper 2’ is Steam Next Fest’s most played demo

House Flipper 2 was a storming success at Steam Next Fest, snagging the title of the most played demo of the entire event.

This is no small task as Steam Next Fest encourages developers of all shapes and sizes to showcase their games in this virtual event that lets players go hands-on with everything that catches their eye. House Flipper 2, a renovation simulation game, improves the original tools at the player’s disposal and introduces new ones in order to restore houses to their former glory.

Set in the fictional seaside town of Pinnacove, the player will be working on a variety of abodes, and House Flipper 2 also adds a sandbox mode for players to build their own houses. While the sim game had some stiff competition, it’s a sign to developer Frozen District that there’s a significant appetite for this fixer upper.

After House Flipper 2, the Bloodborne-inspired soulslike Lies of P skirted into second place and picturesque puzzler Viewfinder was the third most popular demo of the event. Steam Next Fest has been promoted as an accessible channel for developers to begin building a community of curious fans of their game and it’s paid off for these three titles.

Steam confirmed that this year’s Steam Next Fest saw 11.4million players dip their toes into demos of different genres and offer their feedback to the developers. “Steam Next Fest has a huge impact on indie games,” said Super Rare Originals’ Ryan Brown. “Something like 25 to 40 per cent of the wishlists you can gain during your entire pre-launch campaign can come from a Steam Next Fest, which is really quite significant.”

In other gaming news, composer Gustavo Santaolalla has suggested that there is a new version of The Last of Us Part 2 in the works.