Deadlock, the highly anticipated MOBA shooter developed by Valve, surprised the gaming community with a soft launch over the weekend. Valve unveiled a teaser and the store page for the game, marking their official announcement.
The store page provides limited information about Deadlock, describing it as an action game in early development, accessible only to playtesters and through friend invites. The page features some art assets, including the teaser image, with a disclaimer that the visuals may be temporary.
Despite the lack of details, players have eagerly wishlisted the game, as evidenced by its popularity on SteamDB, where it currently ranks 59th in wishlists and has over 42,000 followers.
The journey of Deadlock has been unconventional, with leaks sparking interest before a gradual increase in player counts on Steam. By August, it had over 2,000 concurrent players, reaching a peak of 89,203 on a recent Sunday.
Valve attempted to control gameplay sharing by displaying a message prohibiting sharing of in-game content, though it was not legally enforceable. This resulted in numerous screenshots and gameplay details circulating online, including live streams on platforms like Twitch.
Deadlock combines elements of hero shooters like Overwatch and MOBAs like League of Legends on a 6v6 map with multiple lanes and minions. The game incorporates features from Valve’s other titles like Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2, as well as elements from games such as Apex Legends for dynamic map traversal.
While Valve has not disclosed future plans for Deadlock beyond playtesting, the game’s growing audience indicates potential for success and further development.
