Valve's secretive hero MOBA hybrid Deadlock is quietly turning into one of the year's most compelling success stories. Despite remaining locked behind invites and far from a full release, the game has seen its player base explode in early 2026, consistently pulling concurrent numbers that rival or approach established giants like Overwatch all without any official marketing push or open access. It is safe to say that players are hooked onto it.
As of late February 2026, Deadlock sits at around 91,000 live players with a 24-hour peak of over 102,000 concurrents, according to SteamDB tracking. This comes on the heels of a dramatic resurgence sparked by the "Old Gods, New Blood" update in January, which catapulted numbers from roughly 30,000 early in the year to highs of 125,000 shortly after rollout. That momentum has held strong, with the title frequently landing in Steam's top played rankings and even claiming sixth place among U.S. Steam games in January per Circana data. For context, Overwatch's Steam peaks hover in a similar 100,000-130,000 range during strong periods, making Deadlock's performance remarkable for an unreleased playtest.
The growth trajectory feels organic yet unstoppable. Deadlock first leaked into public view back in 2024 with an accidental playtest spike to 171,490 all-time peak concurrents, but numbers cooled as access tightened. The January update changed everything: six new heroes added in community-voted waves, the fast-paced 4v4 Street Brawl mode for quick matches, revamped Patrons (bases), improved UI with reactive portraits and killstreaks, and tweaks like better trooper AI. Subsequent patches in February, including hero bans in ranked modes, roster expansions for parties, and balance adjustments for characters like Apollo, Graves, Bebop, Shiv, and Rem, have kept the meta evolving and players engaged. (Hopefully Celeste is next on the nerfing block...)
What stands out most is how Deadlock thrives on word-of-mouth and creator-driven invites. Streamers and dedicated community members hand out codes freely, turning Twitch, Discord, and YouTube into unofficial distribution hubs. This grassroots spread has sustained five-figure averages for weeks, proving the core loop of lane farming souls for upgrades, pushing lanes with hero synergies, and destroying enemy bases in chaotic team fights and shows that it has serious staying power. The 1930s gangster-fantasy aesthetic, with its trench-coated assassins, occult bruisers, and mutant weirdos, adds unique flavor that sets it apart from cleaner hero shooters.
Valve's pedigree plays a huge role here. Team Fortress 2 essentially birthed the hero shooter genre, while Dota 2 remains a Steam juggernaut with hundreds of thousands online daily. Deadlock mashes those influences perfectly: precise gunplay meets MOBA progression, ziplines for vertical mobility, destructible environments, and deep build variety that rewards experimentation. Recent additions like vents, crawlspaces, and community-voted hero unlocks have deepened the sandbox feel, turning matches into emergent playgrounds.
The community buzz reflects this upward swing. Forums and social feeds light up with fanart, roleplay clips, and debates over new hero kits. Players praise the crisp animations, readable chaos in fights, and how updates deliver more content than many live-service titles drop in a full year. Retention looks solid too unlike many playtests that fizzle after hype, Deadlock maintains healthy populations even mid-week, suggesting genuine addiction to the power curve and team comps. I personally have been hooked to it like gamer crack and cannot get enough of it!
Looking ahead, 2026 shapes up as Deadlock's breakout year. Ongoing patches keep refining balance and features, with hints of bigger additions like creep camp overhauls or map revamps on the horizon. Speculation points to an open beta possibly in mid-to-late 2026, potentially followed by full release later in the year or early 2027, though Valve remains characteristically silent on timelines. When that door opens wider with there being no more invite gates, perhaps Steam marketing, cross-progression, and cosmetic economy the floodgates could open for Valve. In a genre hungry for fresh competition amid Overwatch reboots and Marvel Rivals flashes, Deadlock's blend of accessibility and depth positions it to dominate.
For now, the numbers speak volumes: an unfinished, unannounced game already commanding armies of players and holding its own against billion-dollar franchises. Valve has a habit of letting quality speak for itself, and Deadlock is shouting. If the momentum carries, expect this invite-only experiment to become the multiplayer obsession of 2026 as the year goes on. Who knows what epic new heroes and content they will be adding next, so stay tuned for more updates as we get them!
Have you been playing Deadlock? Which character is your favorite to play? Which one do you hate the most? Let us know how you are liking the game in the comments section down below!