German publisher and developer Alawar has announced that their narrative-driven, cosy simulation game, The Last Gas Station, will be making its debut with a playable demo at the upcoming Steam Next Fest this February. According to the official Steam schedule, the event kicks off at 2:00 AM KST on February 24, 2026, and runs until 2:00 AM on March 3, 2026.

The Last Gas Station paints a picture of a world where electric vehicles have become the standard, leaving you to manage a dusty, forgotten outpost in the wilderness. As the new proprietor, your job is to spruce up the place and get the business back on its feet. But don't get too comfortable; you'll also be unravelling the mystery behind the previous owner's rather suspicious disappearance, digging deep into the secrets of this peculiar place.

The gameplay loop is a classic mix of tidying up, ordering stock, selling goods, and expanding your empire. The developers explain that you'll be hauling trash, stocking shelves, setting prices, and manning the till to keep the cash flowing. Naturally, since you're running a gas station, you’ll also need to keep a close eye on your fuel reserves, ensuring there's more to your day than just selling snacks.

Upgrading your facility is all about modernising the station. You can tear out the rust, install new gear, and set up tyre inflators or oil change bays to broaden your service offerings. Want a bit of flair? You can customise the place with neon signs to lure in travellers at night or manage fuel supplies with precision. The convenience store side of things is a puzzle of shelf space and customer flow. By investing in better display units, fridges, and equipment, you can stock more items—think snacks, drinks, and road-trip essentials—while optimising the layout to keep queues short and customers happy.

While the daytime is all about cosy management, the nights bring a shift in tone. The developers offer a stern warning: 'Whatever you do, don't go outside at night.' It’s the very rule the previous owner ignored before vanishing into thin air. Once the sun dips below the horizon, things take a turn for the ominous, and it's up to you to track down the clues.

The Steam store page currently lists a release window of Q2 2026. User tags highlight a mix of shop management, cosiness, mystery, investigation, and trading, all wrapped in a pixel-art, side-scrolling aesthetic. It’s an intriguing blend of mundane retail work and unsettling nocturnal secrets. The title will support 10 languages at launch, including Korean, English, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Russian, and Japanese.