One of Steam's most popular games hasn't even been released yet

Key findings

Deadlock gained popularity on Steam through an unconventional alpha testing method and generated interest on social media.
Despite minimal information, Deadlock was able to attract tens of thousands of players and peaked as the 12th most played game on Steam.
Developed by Valve with ties to Dota, Deadlock features a diverse character roster in a 6v6 hero shooter setting.

Valve's recently released MOBA game titled deadlockbecame one of the most popular games on Steam over the weekend, which surprised few. Although it has not yet been announced, deadlock was a common topic on social media due to the rather unorthodox method of acquiring alpha test players, making it inevitable that the game would not remain secret for long.

In May, Valve released its next game available for game testers, but the only way to get into the deadlock Alpha was by receiving an invite from someone who was already there. This led to several threads being created on Valve's official Reddit page and Discord where people could exchange Steam ID numbers. The unannounced title garnered tens of thousands of players, with deadlock even exceeds Helldivers 2's numbers.

Deadlock players are already confronted with cheaters

Valve's newly introduced Deadlock is already experiencing problems with cheaters in the game, according to reports from the game's closed beta.

Valve lifted the embargo deadlock Alpha players on August 23, allowing details of the game to be openly discussed and screenshots, videos and guides shared online. Since then, the game has performed exceptionally well on Steam. While it currently sits at a modest 26,000 players, the now highly anticipated game reached 89,203 peak players over the weekend, becoming the 12th most played game on the platform, just behind games like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, And Grand Theft Auto 5.

Deadlocks player numbers on Steam climb the charts

This is particularly noteworthy because although deadlock Although the game is now officially out, very little is known about it, benefiting mainly from Valve's reputation as a top-notch game developer. deadlockThe Steam page is as sparse as it gets. The description vaguely states that it's “a multiplayer game in early development” with a lot of “temporary art and experimental gameplay.” The product page doesn't even mention PC requirements, other than to say that a 64-bit processor and operating system are required to play.

Nevertheless, there are a few details that have leaked out about the 6v6 hero shooter in recent months and have now been confirmed. deadlock was originally intended as Dota Offshoot called Neon Prime and was developed by the game's lead designer, a person named IceFrog. deadlockValve is listed as the developer on the Steam page, but IceFrog is generally considered to be part of the team working on Valve's latest title. According to game testers, the game plays similarly to Dota.

deadlock will also reportedly include a roster of 19 diverse characters that were leaked before the embargo was lifted. These will fill the expected range of roles required for a versatile MOBA, including a crowd control healer named Kelvin, a warrior named Lash, Grey Talon who wields a bow and sets traps, and an assassin named Infernus who can use fire and DoTs.