It was a few days ago that Valve acknowledged the existence of Deadlock, an all-new third-person hero shooter that’s turning heads worldwide. Before the announcement, Deadlock had pulled in tens of thousands of players on Steam during a closed testing period, and despite the rules not having changed, that number has continued to swell.
People can gain access to the Deadlock test by being invited by someone already in it. Last night, the peak player count skyrocketed to 127,000 players, which is huge considering it’s still being kept behind closed doors for the most part.
Making Moves
Valve has already deployed a major update to Deadlock, introducing a wall-jumping mechanic and more than 100 balancing changes. Players diving into the game yesterday would have noticed a patch being installed, and it seems that Valve is already leaning on community feedback to shape the future of Deadlock.
Everyone from top-tier streamers to competitive gamers is enjoying Deadlock and feeding back a positive sentiment about the shooter. Given that it comes from Valve, the creator of Counter-Strike, it seems that there’s a strong esports future in store for the game.
In the most recent patch, Valve addressed issues with pause abuse, menu interactions, reporting functions, and matchmaking mechanics. As the issues and suggestions surface, the team seems to be implementing them at a breakneck pace, which is refreshing for players worldwide.
It hasn’t been confirmed how many people at Valve are working on Deadlock, but the recent patch had so many changes wrapped up in it that it’d make your head spin to see the full list. If the team is starting as it means to go on, we could have a seriously disruptive shooter on our hands.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out our impressions of the Black Ops 6 beta
