{
  "id": 10912531,
  "title": "Huge Deadlock Update Propels Valve's MOBA Hero Shooter to the Top of the Steam Charts, Smashes Peak Concurrent Player Record",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/huge-deadlock-update-propels-valves-moba-hero-shooter-to-the-top-of",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-30T08:49:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IGN",
    "slug": "ign",
    "url": "https://www.ign.com/articles/huge-deadlock-update-propels-valves-moba-hero-shooter-to-the-top-of-the-steam-charts-smashes-peak-concurrent-player-record"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Valve has recently released an extensive update for its upcoming MOBA hero shooter, Deadlock, which has led to it topping the Steam charts in terms of simultaneous players. The update includes a revamped map, six fresh heroes, additional mobs and objectives, updates to the HUD, health bars, the Shop system, and much more. The development team has also updated the Deadlock engine code to the most recent version of Source 2, as well as improved anti-cheat mechanisms, prediction improvements, rendering and audio performance, item art, and added new sound effects for all hero characters, particularly those with heavy and light melee abilities. The update has been detailed on the Deadlock website.\n\nThe game achieved an extraordinary peak of over 220,000 concurrent players overnight, breaking its previous record and making it the sixth most-played game on Steam that night. It's worth noting that Deadlock is still in the early stages of development, and access is limited to those who have received friend invites through Valve's playtesters. Despite this, the concurrent peak is a remarkable achievement.\n\nIn a Steam post, Valve provided an update on Deadlock's progress and hinted at future enhancements. They are working on large item redesigns and additions, as well as alternate game modes that will expand the game's scope. However, there's no guarantee these features will make it to the final launch version. Other future updates will focus on midboss (both model and layout), Guardians and Walkers, which the team considers important but have not yet addressed. Hero remodels are planned for later in the process, but some of this work may find its way into upcoming updates. There is still no information on a release date or beta expansion for Deadlock. Currently, it remains a game that Valve is developing alongside other major titles such as Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2, which continues to be one of the most-played games on Steam.",
  "summary": "Valve has issued a huge update to its in-development MOBA hero shooter Deadlock, propelling it to the top of Steam’s most-played games chart.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}