Deadlock playercount skyrockets thanks to new character release

by

Even though Deadlocks launched as an invite-only game in August 2024, it only recently reached a peak of nearly 100,000 players, and that’s thanks to the introduction of a new character.

It’s typical for a new game to be most popular right after launch, with player numbers eventually leveling out. Deadlock followed this pattern, but its release was unusual. Valve, the game’s developer, didn’t officially announce it, letting fans discover it and spread the word. The game quickly attracted over 170,000 players, proving to be a surprisingly successful launch despite the lack of traditional marketing.

The game initially stabilized with about 20,000 concurrent players, briefly jumping to around 67,000 during the January 23rd ‘Old Gods, New Blood’ update. Recently, player numbers have surged dramatically thanks to a charming new character, even though the game remains difficult to access.

Deadlock playercount reaches nearly 100k after new character

Over the next three weeks, a new hero will be released each week as part of the ‘Old Gods, New Blood’ update. The first hero, Rem, is a charming character designed to fulfill player requests for a strong support role.

He’s both undeniably cute and remarkably strong, making him a central figure for anyone who enjoys Deadlock.

The game quickly gained a large following, with the number of players jumping from about 24,000 to an incredible 98,887 in just 12 hours on January 26, as reported by Steamdb.

What makes this even more remarkable is that the game is invite-only—you need a friend to invite you to play. It launched around the same time as Highguard on January 26th, and quickly reached a peak of 97,249 players, which is comparable to Deadlock’s numbers.

Even though it launched alongside another popular player-versus-player game and is difficult to get into, Deadlock still has a large and dedicated following.

Read More

2026-01-27 16:52