Summary
DespiteValvenot even acknowledging its existence,the company’s unannounced video gameDeadlockhas already pulled in thousands of players. One of Valve’s worst-kept secrets, the hero-shooter MOBA has suffered several major leaks that have all but confirmed everything about the in-development project but that hasn’t deterred the fledgling community. More than a few managed to gain access toDeadlockover the last weekend, resulting in a strange surge in players for a game that hasn’t yet officially been announced.
PerGamesRadar+, a playtest forDeadlockthat was discovered deep in Steam’s backend has grown so popular thatit’s managed to pull in over 16,000 concurrent players as of August 11. How users are gaining access to this early build of the game remains unknown; it may be the case that testers are inviting other users to try what is likely an alpha or beta version ofDeadlockbut it seems unlikely that the number of users would exceed 16,000. Despite the massive community that’s already formed, Valve has still yet to formally addressDeadlock’s existence.
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What’s Happening At Valve?
Mysterious Events At An Elusive Company
Valve may have a reputation as being one of the world’s leading video game developers, a position it largely moved away from after establishing Steam as a dominant marketplace, but it seems like itcould be returning to its roots.Based on the leakedDeadlockfootage, the game unites the genres of MOBA and hero-shooter, allowing players to choose from a roster of 19 characters and battle over control of a series of lanes. To navigate the world, an aerial skyline is constantly present to ensure players can leap to safety and move around the map with ease.
It could be the case that Valve may be deep intoDeadlock’s development cycle but has yet to decide whether or not the game is something it wants to ultimately ship. The company already has a handful of incredibly popular live-service games under its belt in the form ofCounter-Strike 2,Dota 2, andTeam Fortress 2. Having said that, Valve’s effort to break into the digital card-gaming space withArtifactproved to be a dismal failure.
ShouldDeadlockever see the light of day,it’s unlikely that the game will go the same route asArtifact. Valve has made some of the best competitive shooters on the market while also largely establishingthe MOBA genre as a powerhousein the industry. It stands to reason that if a company wanted to successfully unite those two styles into a single product,Valvewould be the one to do it.
