The latest confirmed Rain98 Demo event is its October 16, 2026 public release on Steam. The current Demo, AppID 3738760, begins at the opening of the story and continues through the first half of Chapter 2. The developer has announced a future expansion through the complete second chapter, but that extra section is planned, not confirmed as live on October 18.
The base game at AppID 3498720 remains Coming Soon. Do not use the Demo launch date as the retail release date, and do not treat a change to the Demo as proof that the same files, saves, achievements, or requirements apply to the final game.
Direct answer: what is available now?
Install the product named Rain98 Demo from its own Steam listing. The official announcement describes more than three hours of play, nine interface/subtitle languages, and public sharing permission. The store description places the current stopping point in the first half of Chapter 2.
The current playable scope includes the story opening, Reina, apartment life, Angel Passport memories, home piecework, spending choices, 1998 Shibuya exploration, and multiple hands-on activities. Exact activity rules, earnings, and scene availability should be checked in the downloaded build; earlier event demos can differ.
Keep the two continuation claims separate
The official Demo page says players will be able to continue from the point they reached when the Demo is expanded. That is a useful save-continuity statement inside Demo AppID 3738760. It does not say those saves will import into the separately listed retail base game.
If a preview claims full-game carry-over, wait for the developer or the official Steam pages to confirm it directly. A third-party statement can be mistaken, based on an older plan, or use “full version” to mean the expanded Demo rather than retail. Protect the save, but do not make a purchase or deletion decision around an unsupported transfer promise.
Steam Cloud is listed for the Demo. Before an update, exit normally and wait for Steam’s synchronization indicator. Avoid opening the same save on two computers while one is offline. Cloud availability is helpful protection, not a substitute for an official migration guarantee.
Tell an event build from the public Demo
Rain98 appeared in several show-floor and media preview episodes before October 16. Those builds demonstrated the apartment, Angel Passport, capsule or bead work, Shibuya, and other scenes at different times. Most did not publish an AppID, branch, or BuildID.
Use an old preview only to say that a feature appeared in that named episode. Do not copy its exact timer, payout, scene order, controls, or stopping point into a guide for the public Demo without checking AppID 3738760. The downloadable Demo is the higher-priority source for current behavior.
The same rule applies after the next update: older public-Demo guides become dated evidence. Record the check date and chapter boundary so a player can see which build context the instructions describe.
Verify whether a real update arrived
Do not rely on a numeric Steam BuildID as a human version. A changed identifier can prove that Steam distributed different files, but it does not explain what changed and should not be rewritten as “Rain98 Demo v25961942” or any similar invented version label.
If Steam shows an update but the official post has not described it, report only what you can reproduce. “Steam downloaded new files on this date” is safer than publishing guessed patch notes. If a community thread reports a bug, state the product and date; one report does not prove a universal known issue or a fix.
What to recheck after the Chapter 2 expansion
When an official notice says the whole second chapter is available, confirm that the Demo can load a save made at the old stopping point. Note whether Steam Cloud finishes normally, whether the chapter boundary message changes, and whether any earlier objectives or activities behave differently. Keep story spoilers behind a clear warning.
Recheck supported languages, achievements, storage requirements, controller metadata, and Deck status separately. A story-content update does not automatically change every technical field. Conversely, a store-metadata change can happen without a new scene.
The developer’s stated full-game playtime expectation and the Demo’s “more than three hours” description are estimates, not timers. Do not infer the exact length of the new Chapter 2 portion by subtracting one marketing estimate from another.
What to recheck at full-game launch
At retail release, move all conclusions back to base AppID 3498720. Confirm the launch date and time from Steam, check the final requirement table, inspect the actual chapter and activity scope, and look for an explicit save-import instruction before moving files.
The Demo has its own Steam achievements and current support metadata. The final base-game achievement list cannot be filled from it in advance. The Demo’s nine languages also should not overwrite the separate base-game language listing.
For the full dated record, return to Rain98 Updates. For the current requirements of both products, use System Requirements. These pages intentionally preserve separate columns so future updates can be added without rewriting a Demo fact as a launch fact.
Current official release note
October 16, 2026 — public Demo launch
The official announcement, “3 hours Long Free Demo is Out,” says the Demo is free, covers the beginning through the first half of Chapter 2, supports nine interface/subtitle languages, and can be streamed or uploaded, including in monetized videos. It also says a future update will add the remainder of Chapter 2.
That is the only confirmed shipped update entry this page needs today. Adding fictional hotfixes, copying event-preview dates into a patch list, or turning the future Chapter 2 plan into a release would make the tracker less useful, not more complete.