Hearth and Hamlet Demo: Free, Length, and What's Inside
Hearth and Hamlet demo details: free demo for Steam Medieval Fest and Next Fest, roughly 1–2 hours, where to get it. Availability now: to be confirmed.
Yes, Hearth and Hamlet has a free demo on Steam. It launched on April 20, 2026 for Steam Medieval Fest, and the current reference build is v1.0.46, released on June 15 for Steam Next Fest. However, its availability right now is uncertain: the demo’s store page began returning redirects around August 14, 2026, so whether it can still be downloaded is To be confirmed.
The short answer
- Demo: Free, on Steam
- Launched: April 20, 2026 (Steam Medieval Fest)
- Latest build: v1.0.46 (June 15, Steam Next Fest)
- Length: ~1–2 hours (community estimate)
- Current availability: To be confirmed
Is there a Hearth and Hamlet demo?
Yes. The Hearth and Hamlet demo is free on the game’s official Steam page, and it has been playable since April 20, 2026, when it launched during Steam Medieval Fest. It was updated again for Steam Next Fest (June 15–22, 2026) with a large patch, bringing the reference build to v1.0.46.
The demo is a vertical slice, not the full game. It introduces the core loop: gather early resources, assign a growing population to jobs, construct and improve a settlement, unlock research, and respond to pressures such as food demand and raids. Progression stops at a defined boundary — the demo is not the entire kingdom campaign. See how the demo compares with the full game.
Hearth and Hamlet demo availability right now
As of mid-August 2026, the demo’s availability is unclear. Around August 14, the demo’s Steam page (appid 4564480) began returning a 302 redirect to the Steam home page, the Steam API stopped reporting the app, and players in the community reported that the demo could no longer be played. Whether this is a temporary issue or a permanent removal ahead of launch is To be confirmed.
The full game is unaffected: it launches on August 19, 2026 at 17:00 UTC on Windows and Linux. See the release date page for unlock times in your timezone.
What’s in the demo?
You start with a campfire, a few tents, and the three siblings of your founding family. The demo guides you through the first milestones of the game:
- Manual gathering (“God Hand”) — hold the left mouse button to gather resources at maximum speed, useful when worker production lags behind demand.
- Worker assignment — assign your growing population to fishing, hunting, farming, woodcutting, stone gathering, and more. The interface clearly shows how many workers are on each job, so you can shift people toward whatever resource is short.
- Construction and research — build from simple structures up to workshops and barracks, and spend research points to unlock “God skills” that can trigger critical hits on manual gathering.
- The demo ending — the finale is a battle against a goblin army. After the end prompt appears, the game does not force-close, so you can keep upgrading existing buildings, but no new locations or story content open up.
Note that the demo does not unlock the complete currency system, and content becomes limited once you progress past iron-tier development. Gold was first added to the demo in v1.0.46, and the full economy of the release version is expected to be much larger.
This first-look video gives a good sense of the opening minutes:
How long is the demo?
Most players can expect roughly one to two hours for a normal run, according to community reports. That is an estimate, not an official time limit — and it mainly describes earlier builds. The v1.0.46 update added buildings, more research options, and an additional main-story quest, so a thorough current run can take longer, especially if you chase every upgrade.
Your pace also depends on how much you experiment with worker assignments and research. The first-hour progression guide walks through the opening loop step by step.
Demo download size and system support
According to SteamDB records cited by the community wiki, the demo’s Windows depot is approximately 568.79 MiB to download and 677.30 MiB installed. Keep at least 1 GB of free storage as listed in the official requirements, because Steam can need extra working space while installing or updating.
The demo listing publishes Windows system requirements, but Linux or Steam Deck support for the demo is not officially confirmed by the demo listing. Do not treat the full game’s Linux listing as proof that the demo has the same support. See the system requirements page for the details we can verify.
How to launch the demo
Steam exposes three verified launch choices for the Windows demo:
| Launch choice | What it does |
|---|---|
| Recommended | Starts with the game’s default renderer |
| Vulkan | Forces the Vulkan renderer with --rendering-driver vulkan |
| Compatibility | Forces OpenGL 3 with --rendering-driver opengl3 |
Start with Recommended. If the game opens to a black screen, crashes during startup, or shows renderer-related visual problems, retry with Compatibility and then the other option. These launch choices were added specifically to help players with startup crashes.
What changed in demo v1.0.46?
The June 15 update was the largest demo patch before launch:
- Gold became accessible for the first time
- Several new buildings and one additional main-story quest were added
- More research options, including “Advisor” quality-of-life research in the Leader’s Hut or Manor
- Rebalanced worker allocation, research pacing, and combat
- UI scaling (automatic or manual), a helper-arrow toggle, independent audio categories, revised resolution options, and 4K readability improvements
- Shift + F11 to hide the interface
- Traditional Chinese and Korean localization added
The same patch broke older demo saves because of large backend changes made to prepare for the full game.
A longer playthrough of the updated demo gives a fuller picture of the systems:
Demo vs full game: what carries over?
The demo is best used to learn the shape of the systems. Expect costs, production rates, research requirements, combat balance, and the amount of available content to differ in the purchased game — demo observations should be labeled as such until the release build can be re-tested.
Do not assume a demo save will carry into the full game. The v1.0.46 patch explicitly made older demo saves incompatible, and there is currently no dependable official answer about transfer to the August 19 build. If you are considering a long completionist run, plan on starting again at launch unless the developer confirms transfer support. See the saved files page for the latest evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Hearth and Hamlet demo free? Yes. The demo is free on Steam. The full game will be a paid release with an unannounced price (see the price page).
Is the demo still available? Its store page began returning redirects around August 14, 2026. Current availability is To be confirmed.
How long is the demo? Roughly one to two hours for a normal run, per community reports. Longer if you unlock everything.
Will my demo save carry over? Unconfirmed. The v1.0.46 patch broke older demo saves, and demo-to-release transfer has no official answer yet.
Where can I download the demo? From the official Steam page. See the download page for size, requirements, and launch options.
The demo is the best way to decide if the game is for you before paying anything. If you already finished it, read the review roundup to see what players think, or check the beginner guide to prepare for launch day.
Sources: Peaceful Maple demo hands-on · Bleeding Cool: free demo announcement · Saving Content: demo and Medieval Fest · Hearth and Hamlet Demo wiki