Deadlock Hasn’t Been Announced, But It Has More Than 18,000 Players

As an avid gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must admit, the hype surrounding Deadlock has me intrigued and somewhat skeptical. The sheer number of players flocking to this unannounced title is unprecedented, making it a phenomenon that even Overwatch 2 couldn’t quite achieve. Yet, here we are, with Valve seemingly keeping mum about its existence.

Although Valve hasn’t formally declared it yet, there’s a buzzing anticipation for “Deadlock,” their rumored hero shooter supposed to compete with Overwatch 2. Despite no official announcement, nearly 20,000 players have already experienced the game. As per the most recent data from SteamDB, an impressive 18,254 concurrent players were logged in Deadlock as recently as yesterday, and this number continues to grow over time.

Starting from May 2024, the number of Deadlock players has been steadily increasing. As of May 30th, it surpassed 1,000 players. From the beginning of August, this figure started growing rapidly, reaching a peak of 10,000 simultaneous players on the 9th of August, and nearly hitting 20,000 just yesterday.

But It’s Not Real

Around three weeks past, the game Deadlock experienced a string of high-profile leaks, exposing gameplay clips, character roster, and core game mechanics. In spite of this, and over 18,000 players simultaneously logged in and actively engaging with the game, Valve has yet to make an official announcement about the title’s release.

It’s reported that Deadlock is currently undergoing a rigorous testing phase, employing a distinct testing strategy.

Via Steam, Valve Corporation has extended invitations for certain individuals to experience the game. These selected participants can subsequently extend invites to more people. However, due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and embargo, we haven’t seen any public demonstrations of the game since its leak in May.

That hasn’t stopped players from discussing their experiences on social media, though.

How long will it be before Valve acknowledges Deadlock’s existence?

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