Valve Shooter Deadlock Hits 100,000 Concurrents Despite Being Invite Only

Valve hero shooter Deadlock is a certified hit on Steam, somehow crossing 100,000 concurrent players while still being invite only.

Data from player tracking website SteamDB shows Deadlock crossed the 100,000 milestone on August 29, 2024, with exactly 106,447 players online at the same time. Its popularity has been steadily increasing throughout August and will surely continue to do so, especially as the weekend approaches.

But what makes Deadlock's success particularly interesting and definitely strange is that it's not officially out yet. Valve seemingly looked to keep the game a secret for weeks despite, again, SteamDB showing that thousands of players were already online.

It was released in this beta or playtesting equivalent state and still remains that way, with players only able to join if invited directly by Valve or referred by someone already playing. Those who did get in were asked to "not share anything about the game with anyone."

Valve has actually acknowledged Deadlock's existence now, however, by taking down that request and unveiling its official Steam page. "Deadlock is a multiplayer game in early development," it says, still vaguely.

Deadlock is actually a six versus six, third person hero shooter with a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) twist, taking inspiration from genre classics such as Leage of Legends, Dota 2, and Heroes of the Storm.

Valve hasn't shared when players can join freely or when a full release may come, but as its numbers grow, the "invite only" status becomes less and less meaningful.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.