Valve’s Deadlock Reached Over 170,000 Players Through Word of Mouth and No Fanfare

After the much-publicised failure of Concord, and this will be the last time we’ll mention it in this article, a ‘hero shooter’ multiplayer game is on its way to becoming a major hit. And that’s Valve’s third-person multiplayer shooter Deadlock, which blends DOTA 2-style MOBA mechanics with Overwatch and Team Fortress action.

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Deadlock has been in development for a while, and Valve didn’t so much as announce it as launch the store page so that thousands (or millions) of players could access the current closed alpha test. Gaining access to play Deadlock on Steam is a matter of friends sharing codes or copies with the ability to play a brand new Valve shooter, and positive word of mouth driving general interest.

Accordingly SteamDBThe game has already entered the list of most popular PC games on Steam, reaching an impressive peak of 171,490 concurrent players. A number that makes it a real hit, despite still being in early development.

Valve has been rapidly opening up the game in recent weeks and months, and as more and more players have jumped on board, feedback has been positive. Its unique blend of lane-based MOBA gameplay, character progression, and a comprehensive roster of playable heroes is resonating with players. When it goes live, there’s every chance it could join Valve’s hits Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2 as a Steam staple.

This one came without any fanfare: no official gameplay trailers, no Team Fortress 2-style animated shorts focusing on the various heroes, and no screenshots. Steam store page Deadlock has a short animation that doesn’t tell you anything about the game and just says the following in its description.

Deadlock is still in early development with lots of previews and experimental gameplay.

Valve hasn’t announced a multiplayer game with MOBA-inspired mechanics, so yes, it’s a big deal that Deadlock has reached the 171,490-player milestone with little to no word from the studio behind Half-Life, Portal, and other iconic games.