Summary
Valve’s recently revealed MOBA game, titledDeadlock, became one of the most popular games on Steam over the weekend, surprising very few. Even while still unannounced,Deadlockwas a common topic on social media, thanks to its rather unorthodox method for gaining alpha test players, which made it inevitable that the game would not be secret for long.
In May, Valve made its upcoming gameavailable to play testers, but the only way to get into theDeadlockalpha was by receiving an invite from somebody who was already in it. This led to several threads being created on Valve’s official Reddit page and Discord for people to exchange Steam ID numbers. The unannounced title amassed tens of thousands of players, withDeadlocksurpassing evenHelldivers 2’s numbers.
Valve lifted the embargo onDeadlockalpha playerson August 23, allowing details of the game to be openly discussed and screenshots, videos, and guides shared online. Since then, the game has performed exceedingly well on Steam. While it currently sits at a modest 26,000 players, over the weekend, the now highly anticipated game hit 89,203 peak players and became the 12th most played game on the platform, falling just below the likes ofCall of Duty, Apex Legends,andGrand Theft Auto 5.
Deadlock’s Player Numbers on Steam Climb the Charts
This is particularly noteworthy because, even thoughDeadlocknow officially exists, very little is known about the game. It is riding primarily on the tailwinds of Valve’s reputation as a top tier game developer.Deadlock’s Steam page is about as barren as they come, with its description stating vaguely that it’s “a multiplayer game in early development” with lots of “temporary art and experimental gameplay.” The product page doesn’t even provide PC requirements, besides specifying that it requires a 64-bit processor and OS to play.
Despite this, there are a few details that were leaked about the 6-vs-6 hero shooter over the past few months and have since been confirmed.Deadlockwas initially meant to be aDotaspinoff calledNeon Primeand was being developed by that game’s lead designer, an individual called IceFrog. ThoughDeadlock’s Steam page lists the developer as Valve, IceFrog is still generally believed to be part of the team working on the company’s newest title, and according to play testers, the game plays similarly toDota.
Deadlockwill reportedly also feature a roster of 19 diverse characters, which were leaked prior to the embargo lifting. These will fill the expected range of roles required for a well-rounded MOBA, including a healer with crowd control named Kelvin; a warrior called Lash; Grey Talon, who wields a bow and sets traps; and an assassin known as Infernus who can use fire and DoTs.
Deadlock
WHERE TO PLAY
Deadlock is an upcoming game from Valve which seemingly combines elements of the MOBA and hero shooter genres. As it is still in early development, gameplay and assets may be incomplete. Access is granted via friend invites.
