Deadlock still doesn’t have a release date and technically isn’t available to the general public, but Valve’s in-development MOBA has just broken its concurrent player record following the arrival of a frankly bananas chess-playing wizard, Solomon.
SteamDB recorded an all-time peak of 262,145 concurrent Deadlock players on Oct. 9, the same day Valve added Solomon. That took the invite-only playtest beyond Team Fortress 2’s recorded Steam peak of 253,997 players.
Deadlock remains officially described as a “multiplayer game in early development,” with access still requiring an invitation from an existing player. Yet it’s already producing player numbers more commonly associated with fully released live-service games.
What Is Deadlock?
Deadlock combines a third-person hero shooter with the lane-based progression and objectives associated with MOBAs. Two teams of six control heroes with unique weapons and supernatural abilities while collecting resources, buying upgrades and pushing through enemy defenses toward the opposing Patron.
That hybrid structure puts Valve into an already fiercely competitive space occupied by games such as Marvel Rivals, Overwatch and established MOBAs. And yet, Valve is managing to build a substantial audience for Deadlock before even formally releasing the game.
Solomon Sends Deadlock Past 262,000 Players
Solomon approaches Deadlock’s supernatural New York like an enormous chessboard, with practically his entire character built around the game. His abilities include Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight, Rook Battery and an ultimate called Develop Queen.
Even his weapon is absurdly detailed. Solomon fires pawns from a chessboard-shaped gun, with players discovering that reloading at different ammunition counts displays different board positions, including configurations apparently based on real historical chess games.
Together, his abilities effectively recreate a complete chess set. His basic ammunition represents the pawns, while his abilities account for bishops, knights, rooks and the queen. Solomon himself functions as the king.
That unusual design quickly became a major talking point across Deadlock’s community. One popular Reddit discussion described Solomon as potentially the game’s “most well-designed character,” praising how the chess mechanics require players to actively manage pieces and positioning during fights rather than simply using chess as a visual gimmick.
Others were equally impressed while arguing he’s currently far too powerful. Complaints have focused on his area-of-effect damage, Queen ultimate and occasionally awkward controls when several pieces, teammates and enemies occupy the same fight.
Whatever balancing changes follow, Solomon certainly got people playing. His Oct. 9 release and Deadlock’s 262,145-player record happened on the same day.
Deadlock Is Still an Invite-Only Game
Those numbers become considerably more striking given how difficult Deadlock remains to access compared with a normal Steam release. Valve’s Steam page lists no release date, contains no conventional user review score, and simply describes the project as being in early development.
New players can’t currently visit the store page and install it. Instead, they need an invitation from a Steam friend who already has access to the playtest. Valve then processes the invitation before Deadlock can be added to their library.
Despite that barrier, SteamDB recorded a 24-hour peak above 220,000 players on Oct. 12, showing that Solomon’s launch-day record wasn’t simply followed by an immediate collapse.
City Never Sleeps Is Feeding Deadlock New Heroes
Solomon is part of the wider City Never Sleeps update, but Valve has deliberately staggered its six new heroes instead of dropping them together. Players vote for who joins the roster next, with winners released on Tuesdays and Fridays. Rat King arrived first on Oct. 2, followed by Baba on Oct. 6 and Solomon on Oct. 9.
Nurse Harrow, Deadman Danny and Violet remain in contention for the remaining slots.
City Never Sleeps itself also substantially changed Deadlock’s supernatural New York, including redesigned areas, neutral encounters, UI improvements and new systems such as The Broker and Corrupted Items. However, the latest player-count jump lines up specifically with Solomon’s arrival rather than the Sept. 29 release of the big update.
That arguably demonstrates why Valve’s staggered approach is effective. Each character becomes its own miniature event, giving players another reason to return, and creating days of speculation around who will arrive next.
The Last Word
Valve’s name is arguably more synonymous these days with Steam, hardware, and endless Half-Life 3 memes than actual games. Its most recent major game launch was Counter-Strike 2 in September 2023, while its last entirely new single-player release was Half-Life: Alyx back in March 2020.
That makes Deadlock’s invite-only popularity especially notable. Even before a release date, normal early access, or finished launch build, Valve has already attracted more than 262,000 concurrent players. Solomon’s arrival, and the City Never Sleeps update, both show that gamers are still willing to turn up in huge numbers for whatever Valve decides to make. Whether Deadlock can grow that audience once it goes fully live, or stalls after launch, remains to be seen.
Featured Image Credit
Image via Steam
