One of Steam’s Most Popular Games Hasn’t Even Been Released Yet

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One of Steam's Most Popular Games Hasn't Even Been Released Yet

Key Takeaways

  • Deadlock rose to popularity on Steam through an unconventional alpha test method, sparking interest on social media.
  • Despite minimal information, Deadlock garnered 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 roster of characters in a 6-vs-6 hero shooter setting.

As a long-time gaming enthusiast with decades of experience under my belt, I must say that Deadlock has left me utterly astonished. This game, shrouded in mystery and unveiled through an intriguing alpha test method, has skyrocketed to fame faster than a rocket-powered roller skate! With Valve’s reputation as the mastermind behind games like Dota, it’s no wonder that Deadlock has managed to gather such a massive following.

Over the past weekend, Valve’s newly unveiled MOBA game, named Deadlock, quickly climbed up the popularity charts on Steam, a development that came as no surprise to many. Even before its official announcement, Deadlock had been generating buzz on social media platforms, largely due to its innovative approach for selecting alpha test players. Given this unique strategy, it was only a matter of time before the game broke out from secrecy.

Back in May, I was thrilled when Valve allowed testers to try out their upcoming game before anyone else. However, the only way to gain access to the exclusive alpha of Deadlock was by receiving an invitation from someone who was already part of it. This resulted in a flurry of activity on Valve’s official Reddit page and Discord channels, with gamers eagerly exchanging Steam ID numbers in hopes of getting in. The mysterious title attracted a huge following, with Deadlock even outperforming Helldivers 2 in terms of player count.

On August 23, Valve ended the restrictions for players of the alpha version of Deadlock, enabling them to freely share details about the game online, including screenshots, videos, and tutorials. Since then, the game has been thriving on Steam. Although it currently boasts around 26,000 active users, over the weekend, the much-anticipated title reached a peak of 89,203 players, making it the 12th most popular game on the platform. It’s only slightly less played than titles such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and Grand Theft Auto 5.

Deadlock’s Player Numbers on Steam Climb the Charts

This is remarkable due to the fact that although Deadlock has been officially announced, there isn’t much information available about the game. Its popularity mainly stems from Valve’s esteemed status as a leading game developer. The Steam page for Deadlock is quite sparse, with its summary being rather vague, mentioning that it’s in early development and featuring temporary art and experimental gameplay. The product description doesn’t even list the PC requirements beyond stating that it requires a 64-bit processor and operating system to run.

Despite this, there are a few details that were leaked about the 6-vs-6 hero shooter over the past few months and have since been confirmed. Deadlock was initially meant to be a Dota spinoff called Neon Prime and was being developed by that game’s lead designer, an individual called IceFrog. Though Deadlock’s Steam page lists the developer as Valve, IceFrog is still generally believed to be part of the team working on Valve’s newest title, and according to play testers, the game plays similarly to Dota.

It’s been announced that the game Deadlock will apparently have a variety of 19 characters to choose from, some of which were accidentally revealed before the embargo was lifted. These characters are expected to cover a wide range of roles typical in a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA), such as a healer with crowd control abilities named Kelvin, a warrior called Lash, Grey Talon who uses a bow and lays traps, and an assassin named Infernus who can manipulate fire and deal damage over time (DoT).

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2024-08-26 13:04