BETTER TOGETHER: BUNDLE FESTIVAL
The first Steam festival built on bundles. Every game shows up next to its partner, every bundle runs at a discount, for one week.
HOW IT WORKS
One festival, one rule: nobody shows up alone.
Two games, one bundle
You and another studio have a bundle on Steam. That pair is the unit of this festival, not the single game. Any bundle counts, whoever built it.
One discounted week
The bundle runs at a discount for the seven days of the event. The size of the discount is your call, the same as in any Steam sale.
Everyone pulls their own crowd
Each pair brings two audiences instead of one, and every participant cross-promotes the rest. That network effect is the whole pitch.
WHO CAN JOIN
- Any two paid games on Steam that share a bundle. It does not have to be a bundle made through Mad Octopus.
- Coming soon games are welcome, as long as both titles are released and the bundle is live before the event starts.
- No partner yet? Say so in the form. Our matchmaking is free and finding pairs is what it does all day.
- Mature titles are fine. Steam's own content rules apply on the event page, same as anywhere else.
WHAT WE ASK
- The bundle is live on Steam before the festival opens, and discounted during the week.
- Both studios agree to take part. One side cannot enter the other's game on its own.
- You keep the AppIDs accurate. The list sits with Valve's review team and a dead AppID costs everyone credibility.
No fees, no paid placement, no favouritism. Our own published games sit on the list on exactly the same terms as everyone else's, which is also what Valve's event rules require.
WHERE IT STANDS
PUT YOUR BUNDLE ON THE LIST
Two AppIDs and an email is all we need. Everyone on the list gets the discount window and the asset deadlines with time to spare.
QUESTIONS
Is this an official Steam event?+
Yes, in the way third-party sales events are: Valve's review team approved it on 4 September 2026 to run as a Steam sales event with its own sale page, hosted by Mad Octopus, January 18-25, 2027. What it is not is a Valve-curated festival. Valve did not grant extra front-page featuring, and we would rather tell you that here than let you find out in January.
Do I have to be a Mad Octopus developer?+
No. The festival is open to any bundle on Steam. Plenty of the pairs we are putting forward were never matched through our hub.
What does it cost?+
Nothing. There is no entry fee and there is no paid placement. Valve's event hosting rules forbid it anyway.
My partner has not agreed yet. Can I sign up alone?+
Put your own game in and tell us in the note. We hold the entry until both sides confirm, because a bundle nobody agreed to is not a bundle.
How big does the discount have to be?+
Your call, and your partner's. Valve asks that the majority of an event runs discounted, so the only firm requirement is that the bundle is on sale during the week.
Can my game be in more than one bundle at the festival?+
No. Valve's rule for the event is one bundle per game, so a title appears on the sale page with exactly one partner. If you run several bundles, pick the one you want featured and tell us in the note. The other bundles keep selling on Steam as usual, they are just not part of the festival page.
Is the January line-up full?+
Close to it. Valve told us the event sits right at the size where a bigger list loses its store page banner, so we are holding the line-up at the current 174 titles. New sign-ups go on a reserve list in the order they arrive and move in when a pair drops out, which happens. Sign up anyway: reserve pairs are the first ones called, and the next edition starts from that list.
What happens now?+
The dates are set and the sale page is being built. Everyone on the list gets the same mail with the discount window and the asset deadlines, well before January. Reserve pairs hear from us the moment a slot opens.
NO BUNDLE PARTNER YET?
The Dev Hub is free, and finding the right pair is the entire point of it. Add your game, swipe through games that fit yours, and the bundle can be live long before the festival opens.
Open the Dev Hub