Valve’s worst-kept secret, Deadlock, is already running ahead of 200,000 total players, suggests reputable Source dataminer Gabe Follower. The game is also seeing impressive concurrent player numbers for something that doesn’t officially exist and is slowly making its way to high spots on Steam’s charts.
Gabe Follower posted a screenshot of the SteamDB page for Deadlock, an unannounced in-development MOBA created by Valve. As of the evening of Aug. 11, nearly 17,000 concurrent players were in the game. He added that the game already has over 200,000 players and aims to break the 20,000 concurrent player number. This boost in player numbers can be attributed to Valve’s recent decision to relax the invitation process, allowing players to bring anyone on their Steam friends list aboard.
We’ve previously reported how Deadlock has been steaming ahead of Smite, its supposed main competitor in the third-person MOBA genre. In the report, we mentioned how Valve has also been targeting former and current professional Smite players, alongside prominent figures from other games such as Overwatch, giving them keys to test the game and provide valuable feedback. That, combined with word-of-mouth marketing and relaxed invitations, has likely brought the unannounced project to these levels.
From the leaks and the official Deadlock forums and Discord, we can best describe the game as a genuine MOBA with lanes, carries, supports, neutral camps (Jungle), and a Roshan-Nashor-type boss that spawns during the mid-game. It incorporates elements primarily found in Overwatch, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2, with a lot borrowed from Smite and, to some extent, Heroes of the Storm.
Given the game’s current state, the earliest prediction of an announcement would be at the end of this year’s TI 2024 Dota 2 tournament, though a later date is entirely possible.
