12 Free Steam Playtest Invite vs Fest Demo Branch Isolation Runbooks and Tools (2026 H2)

Official Playtest hub—invite caps, visibility, and how Playtest installs differ from public demo depots.
Use for: surface eligibility baseline

Branch matrix—map playtest-invite, beta_ffa, and fest_public rows to real branch names before promotion.
Pro tip: separate depots per surface before week-one QA

Trend playbook spine—ships playtest_scope_map_v1.json + playtest_isolation_receipt_v1.json gates; read once, bookmark this list.
Start here: scope isolation framing

Branch creation lane—password playtest setup before isolation maps; do not confuse with fest-public promotion.
Best for: first Playtest surface

Feedback indexing—forms and surveys with surface + build_id fields; pairs Whisper VOD triage for unstructured clips.
Use for: structured playtest reports

Binary discipline—dev_console_allowed: false on fest_public rows; playtest may allow console, fest must not.
Best for: scope map column truth

Fourth surface—press/review keys as optional scope-map row so keys redeem the build you intend.
Use for: Next Fest press lane

Evidence spine—add surface + scope_hash columns beside binary smoke before fest visibility toggles.
Use for: promotion audit trail

Pre-promotion smoke—run S4–S6 only on the fest_public row after isolation receipt passes.
Pair with: metadata diff ritual below

Post-launch triage—tag refunds by surface when players installed the wrong branch; catches isolation failures in the wild.
Best for: week-one fest ops

Telemetry beginner lane—emit build_label + surface on session start without PII; proves which depot players actually ran.
Use for: analytics-backed isolation

Fest-public upload lane—Steam Input + depot checklist for fest_public only; run after isolation receipt green, not on playtest rows.
Pair with: Whisper VOD triage list for async clips