Valve's Unreleased Shooter Deadlock Is Already Rivaling Overwatch Player Numbers on Steam
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Valve's unreleased hero shooter Deadlock is nearing Overwatch player numbers on Steam, pulling in over 125,000 concurrent players despite being invite-only and receiving no traditional marketing.
Valve is proving once again that a strong reputation and solid gameplay do more for a launch than traditional marketing budgets. According to a recent report by Eurogamer, the unreleased hero shooter Deadlock is pulling in concurrent player numbers that rival Blizzard's established heavyweight, Overwatch, despite still being locked behind an invite-only system and lacking a public release date. Circana data revealed that Deadlock ranked as the sixth most played game on Steam in the US during January, a massive feat for a title that is technically still in development and receives zero direct promotion from Valve.
The surge follows the recent Old Gods, New Blood update, which added six new characters, introduced a faster game mode, and overhauled large parts of the experience. SteamDB metrics show that concurrent players jumped from around 30,000 at the start of the year to a peak of 125,000, bringing it within striking distance of Overwatch and its peak Steam player base of 134,000. What makes these figures remarkable is the barrier to entry, as players still require an invite from someone already in the game to gain access, relying heavily on streaming communities and creator networks to spread the word.
Deadlock succeeds by blending the DNA of Valve's past heavy hitters, combining the team-based hero shooter dynamics of Team Fortress 2 with the lane and economy mechanics of Dota 2. Players select 1930s gangster-inspired fantasy heroes, farm computer-controlled characters for cash, and purchase upgrades to overpower the opposing team. With Dota 2 still holding strong as the second most played game on Steam with hundreds of thousands of concurrent users, Valve's pedigree in competitive multiplayer remains unmatched. While there is still no word on when Deadlock will open its doors to the public, the community momentum suggests it will be a dominant force when it officially arrives.
Tags: Deadlock, Valve, Steam, PC Gaming, Hero Shooter
Original article: Eurogamer