Deadlock's Massive Update Smashes Steam Player Record

Did you see Deadlock blowing up on Steam last night? Valve's in-development MOBA hero shooter just got a massive update, and it smashed its all-time concurrent player record, hitting over 220,000 players. That's insane for a game that's still invite-only!

The update is packed with new stuff: six new heroes, a significantly updated map, new mobs, objectives, and a refreshed HUD. They've also tweaked healthbars, the Shop, and more. Plus, Valve upgraded the engine to the latest Source 2, improved anti-cheat, and made performance improvements across the board. There's even new SFX for all hero melee attacks. You can find all the details on the Deadlock website.

With this surge, Deadlock became the sixth most-played game on Steam last night. Remember, it's still in early development and access is limited to friend invites via Valve's playtesters, so this peak is truly impressive. It shows just how hungry players are for a new Valve multiplayer game.

In a Steam post, Valve gave an update on Deadlock's development and teased future plans. They're working on large item redesigns and additions, and even alternate game modes that expand the scope of the game. However, they cautioned that these might not make it into the final launch version. Other future updates will focus on Midboss (both model and layout), Guardians and Walkers, which they consider important but haven't gotten to yet. Hero remodels will come later, but we might see some of that work in upcoming updates.

There's still no release date or window for Deadlock, nor any word on when it will expand to a beta. Valve is juggling this with supporting its other big hitters like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and occasionally Team Fortress 2. But based on this level of interest, Deadlock looks like it'll be another Steam hit when it eventually launches.

And no, there's still no sign of Half-Life 3. Sorry to burst your bubble.

What do you think about Deadlock's record-breaking player count? Will you be trying to get an invite? Let us know in the comments!