Since May, Valve has been working on Deadlock, a game that combines several genres and has attracted players through a playtest, which is available by invitation only on Steam.
Over the weekend, Valve removed the “hide” option from its “hiding-in-plain-sight” test, launching a bare-bones Steam page for Deadlock. This marks the company’s first attempt at creating a new gaming franchise since the release of the collectible card game Artifact in 2018, which was disbanded in 2021.
The new page, which was published on Saturday, offers valuable, if limited, information about Deadlock. In addition to describing it as “a multiplayer game in early development,” it also includes a 22-second trailer that focuses on a piece of concept art. All details, from the game’s system requirements to its release date, remain “TBD.” Players lucky enough to receive “friend invites through our players” will have the chance to explore “temporary art and experimental gameplay” on the Steam page.
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Within hours of its announcement, Deadlock reached a peak concurrent player count of nearly 90,000 invited users on Steam. According to SteamDB, over 32,000 users are currently playing the game on Valve's platform.
Since the first leaks months ago, the playtest has gradually expanded from hundreds of players to tens of thousands, including those who have published detailed reviews of the game. Additionally, Valve has reportedly relaxed its streaming rules for invited players, leading to a wave of players livestreaming the game on Twitch.
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The hero-shooter Deadlock places two teams of six players each on maps with four lanes. Each hero has unique abilities and equipment. Leaked information suggests that the game takes place in a fantasy-steampunk world and will include tower defense mechanics. In addition, there are the necessary Fortnite-style cover-building mechanics, double jumps and air corridors like in Titanfall, melee attacks and parries, as well as many features that we will be able to unlock.
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Based on this information, creating a new page on Steam primarily serves as a reference point for notifications via Wishlist and user-defined tags.
Source: arstechnica.com
