The “City Never Sleeps” update has earned Deadlock its highest concurrent player count yet.
Valve’s Deadlock, which is technically still an “unreleased game” in development, has nearly doubled its peak player count following the release of a major “City Never Sleeps” update today (30 September). The patch introduces six new heroes alongside a widespread map overhaul.
Deadlock first broke through to 171,000 concurrent players two months after it was opened to the public. The game’s previous major update, “Old Gods, New Blood”, saw its player count soar, but it was not enough to surpass its existing peak.
However, “City Never Sleeps” and the long-awaited arrival of Rat King finally pushed Deadlock past that milestone, with its concurrent player count skyrocketing to a new peak of 228,086. This also pushed the game into Steam’s top ten most-played games at the time.
Deadlock
Release Date: TBA (playable through invite-only access)
Platforms: PC via Steam
Developer: Valve
Six new heroes are coming to Deadlock
The batch of new heroes has sent Deadlock fans into a frenzy, with the lineup finally including the community-favourite Rat King. The character originated as a fan concept shared by the community a year ago–and was also seen in an earlier Dota 2 console in 2020–before spiralling into a beloved and heavily-meme-d concept.
Well, Valve is certainly listening, now introducing the scrappy, regal and tenacious Rat King to the upcoming hero lineup. The royal rodent is accompanied by new playable characters Baba, Deadman Danny, Nurse Harrow, Violet, and Solomon.
Here are the descriptions attached to each hero:
- The Rat King–Scrappy, Regal, Tenacious
- Baba–Cackling, Beady, Hexing
- Deadman Danny–Reckless, High-Flying, Explosive
- Nurse Harrow–Strict, Terrifying, Saviour
- Violet–Expressive, Nimble, Creative
- Solomon–Strategist, Grandmaster, Checkmate
As with the “Old Gods, New Blood” update, the release order of these heroes will be determined by player votes. Two heroes will be released every week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2.00pm PT, with the first release scheduled for Friday, 2 October.
Voting is now live and, much like the previous event, players earn votes with every match victory. Valve has also added a fun tweak to the system, with all voting now taking place in the new pre-game lobby. Votes from the winning team will count for double.
New locations in Deadlock’s City Never Sleeps update
The new update has breathed more life into The Cursed Apple, further redesigning and styling its different lanes. The mid lane, or blue lane, is now called “Broadway”, where players descend from Uptown and Times Square to Downtown.
The bottom lane, or green lane, is now Greenwich, taking players through Umbria University, Central Park and The Brownstones.
Meanwhile, the top lane, or yellow lane, is now York, with three checkpoints: the financial playground of Stock Exchange stands, followed by Seaport Dock, and finally the Old Fairfax Factories.
The back alleys and side streets also welcome new additions, divided into four districts to explore: the Theatre, Chinatown, Haunted Lot, and Plaza. Each district features its own unique Haunts.
Deadlock has also added an underground Sunken Plaza beneath the city’s main square, as well as the Bell Tower.
All new Haunts in Deadlock’s City Never Sleeps update
Deadlock’s Haunts, or “neutral creeps”, have also received an overhaul, with new additions and replacements introduced across the map. Here are all the new Haunts in Deadlock:
- Specimen–Broadway
- Gutter Ghouls–Greenwich
- Barrel Mimics–York
- Stage Hands–Theatre District
- Crabbage Pots–Chinatown District
- Festival Spirit–Chinatown District
- Shrooms–Haunted Lot District
- Underhands–Plaza District
New merchant, quality of life, and HUD changes in Deadlock
A mysterious merchant called The Broker has also arrived. The Broker can transform items into their corrupted versions, but there is a catch.
The update also introduces Tough Crates and Buff Containers, which require a Heavy Melee attack to smash, alongside Healing Snacks. Steam Vents have also been added, providing invisibility and a small amount of regeneration while players stand on them.
There are also plenty of quality-of-life and HUD changes, including a new health bar design, ally indicators, an improved stats display, a new targeting mode, an event feed to track important moments during a match and an improved shop layout.
Valve has also added new voice lines for pre-match conversations, increasing the number from over 700 to 1,500, along with another 10,000 non-ping voice lines. There is also a new dialogue player allowing fans to listen to all the voiceovers in the game.
A plethora of new tools have also been added, ranging from accessibility features and recording tools to additional settings.
The announcement also came alongside Valve’s development notes, in which the studio discussed what it has prioritised over the past year and what it plans to focus on moving forward. Ultimately, Valve appears positive about the game’s development, with Deadlock potentially moving towards finalisation soon.
