Steam Visual Novel Fest celebrates the spirit of telling a story through art and interactive fiction with discounts and demos on current and upcoming visual novel games of all kinds.

This event runs August 7 at 10:00 AM PDT (UTC-7) to August 14 at 10:00 AM PDT (UTC-7) and will include discounting, as well as sections for unreleased games and games with demos.

Table of Contents

• Important Dates
  
• Eligibility
  
• Asset Kit
  
• Frequently Asked Questions
  
• Contact / Help

Important Dates

• June 26 - If additional opt-in has been requested by Valve: deadline to register for the event, opt in to marketing materials permissions, enter a discount, and ensure you have at least one trailer set to public.
  
• August 3 - Trailer announcing the event launches, at which point you're welcome to share your participation in the event. Please see the asset kit below.
  
• August 7, 10am PDT - Event start; deadline to register for the event and enter a discount if you would like to participate with one, or opt out if you registered and your plans have changed.

Eligibility

Released games, unreleased games, demos, and free to play games are all welcome to participate (assuming the below eligibility criteria are met). Playtests are not currently included in Steam themed sale events.

This event highlights games that emphasize interactive storytelling primarily through text, with static or animated images to accompany you every step of the way.

Participating games must be visual novels and typically feature additional mechanics and/or elements including:

• Text-based content with front-and-center visuals accompanying the storytelling
  
• Choices must be made by the player to advance the story

Examples of games that may not qualify as visual novels (as described above) and thus may not be eligible include games in which:

• The content is text-based but visuals are not front-and-center
  
• Players have direct control over a character to free roam
  
• Visual novel elements are included, but gameplay doesn't directly impact how the story proceeds (e.g. shooters, fighting games, farming sims)
  
• The primary game mechanic involves full-motion video (i.e. games that feel more like watching a movie instead of reading a novel); games where full-motion video is accompanied by gameplay decisions (instead of only ‘continuing’ or viewing other FMV segments) ARE eligible for this event

Check your list of eligible games here: https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/vn_2023

Asset Kit

Download the below kit of images and templates to use on your own social media channels when telling your fans about your participation in this event. These assets are designed to work well on various platforms and you're welcome to use them to let players know you'll be participating, which you may do after the official event trailer announcing the event launches (typically four days prior to event start; please reference Important Dates above).

Download here: COMING SOON

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I haven't received an email invitation and have a game I believe fits the eligibility criteria described above. How can I confirm whether my game has been invited and request an invitation if it has not been invited?
A. If you haven't received an email invitation and believe you have a game that fits the eligibility criteria described above, please check:

• Your list of eligible games here: https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/vn_2023
  
• The registration page for your game by appending your appID here: https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/vn_2023/<appid>
  
• Your base game's App Admin page (in the Marketing Tools & Data section) for the opt-in by appending your appID here: https://partner.steamgames.com/apps/landing/<appID>

If your game is not found via the paths above and you believe it meets the eligibility criteria, please contact us here.

If your game was found via the paths above but you didn't receive an email, please check your Steamworks communication preferences (instructions available in the Steam Themed Sale Events parent documentation page).

Q. Do I need to register my game before entering a discount?
A. Yes, you need to do the following things in order:

1. Follow the link in the invitation email, or click this link to see your eligible games and register each: https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/vn_2023
   
2. Once a game is registered, you can then enter discounts on the Discount Management page: https://partner.steamgames.com/promotion/discounts/dashboard/

Q. Will there be livestreaming as part of this event?
A. Livestreaming will not be featured on the sale page, but you're welcome to livestream on your own game's store page as you wish.

Q. I've changed my plans. How do I cancel my registration?
A. Just return to the registration page for your game by inserting your appID at the end of this URL https://partner.steamgames.com/optin/sale/vn_2023/<appid> and deselect the checkbox at the very bottom of the page to remove your game from the event.

Need Help?

Contact us here if you have questions regarding this event.