Leaked Valve Game Crosses 16,000 Active Players On Steam Even Before Announcement

Over the span of months, it’s become clear that Valve has been working on an unannounced MOBA project, dubbed Deadlock. Some gamers have called it one of the worst-kept secrets in the history of gaming, as the studio refuses to officially acknowledge its existence. The covert game has now hit nearly 17,000 active players on Steam—as recorded by the tracker, SteamDB—despite the devs not announcing the entry in any way.

Valve has invited players who have met specific requirements, but those prerequisites are anyone’s guess at this point. Some think users from specific regions whose accounts are of a certain age have been selected for this playtest.

Best of all, once a user is selected, they are able to invite others freely for the playtest. This has allowed the active player count to significantly grow in the last few weeks. Many gamers who are already playtesting have been inviting others for free online.

Deadlock Is An Exciting Valve Entry Shrouded In Mystery

From what we know, Deadlock is a MOBA entry with four lanes and six heroes per team. Smite is the closest competitor, plus its gameplay is a combination of “Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, [and] Orcs Must Die.” The game’s active player count has slowly grown since the first 1,120 players in May 2024. In the last month alone, there has been a 500% increase in players since initial participation began. 

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Valve has been taking down footage of the game that gets uploaded online. So, you can’t find much about its gameplay, even with many leaks, besides the description that we’ve learned over time. All in all, it remains to be seen when Valve will announce the title, but we may learn more about it later this year or in early 2025.