How long do Twitch VODs from Steam Next Fest stay online?
Published · Numbers as of
Twitch keeps a past broadcast for 7, 14 or 60 days, depending on the streamer's account. Of 257 VODs of indie game streams we checked on 27 Sept 2026, 77% came from affiliate channels, which normally keep them for 14 days. Twitch doesn't show who has Prime or Turbo, which extends that to 60, so this is an estimate from the channel type.
For the October 2026 Next Fest, a 7-day VOD from the first day expires on 26 October, the last day of the fest, and a 14-day one on 2 November. Watch streams during the fest, not after it.
Twitch's rules
| Streamer's account | Past broadcast kept for |
|---|---|
| Partner, or a streamer with Prime or Turbo | 60 days |
| Affiliate | 14 days |
| Everyone else | 7 days |
Three more rules decide whether you can still watch a stream:
- A streamer can turn off storing past broadcasts, or delete or unpublish a VOD whenever they like. Then no past broadcast is available on Twitch.
- A streamer who also broadcasts in vertical format loses the vertical version after 7 days. The regular version stays for the full period.
- Highlights and uploads have no expiry date, but since April 2025 a channel can keep only 100 hours of them. Above that, Twitch deletes the least-watched highlights first, and the streamer can remove one at any time (Engadget).
When Next Fest VODs disappear in October 2026
Steam Next Fest runs from 19 to 26 October 2026, starting and ending at 10:00 Pacific time (Steamworks). A 7-day VOD from the first day expires on the fest's last day, so if you wait for the fest to finish before you watch, some streams will already be gone.
| Streamed on | 7-day VOD | 14-day VOD | 60-day VOD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct | 26 Oct | 2 Nov | 18 Dec |
| 22 Oct | 29 Oct | 5 Nov | 21 Dec |
| 26 Oct | 2 Nov | 9 Nov | 25 Dec |
Which clock indie streams are on
On 27 Sept 2026 we looked up, through the Twitch API, all 259 VODs that our reports link to: streams of 46 indie games analysed in the week of 21 Sept 2026, before the fest. 2 were no longer available, and we can't tell whether they expired or were deleted. For the other 257, the channel type gives the usual retention:
| Channel type | VODs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate: normally 14 days | 197 | 77% |
| Neither: normally 7 days | 38 | 15% |
| Partner: 60 days | 22 | 9% |
Only 22 of the 257 VODs came from Partner channels. These are streams from September, not from the fest. We expect fest streams of small indie demos to look similar and will recount them after 26 October; until then, plan for two weeks for most streams and one week for some.
What to do before they expire
- Keep a list while the fest runs. Your game's Twitch category shows who is live right now. After a stream ends, its VOD is in the Videos tab of that channel. Note the channel and the day.
- Watch in the order they expire. A 7-day VOD from Monday is gone by the next Monday, and the first days of the fest go first.
- When a stream matters to you, ask the streamer whether they would keep that part as a highlight. It is their channel and their call, and a channel near the 100-hour limit may not have room.
How we counted
The VODs are the ones our reports link to, 259 streams of 46 indie games on Twitch. For each one, the Twitch API gives the channel, and the channel's type (partner, affiliate or neither) gives the retention from the table above.
What this doesn't tell you
- Twitch doesn't show who has Prime or Turbo, so some of the 7- and 14-day VODs may in fact stay for 60 days. The shares above are a floor for 60 days.
- A stream without a saved VOD never reaches our reports. These numbers say nothing about how many streamers keep no VODs at all.
- We pick the longest streams of each game first, so shorter streams are underrepresented.