Deadlock has just overtaken Team Fortress 2's all-time peak concurrent player count, despite still being invite-only and in "early development."
Valve's new MOBA hero shooter hybrid has set a new CCU of 262,145, narrowly overtaking Team Fortress 2's record of 253,997 - which was set in 2023.
The reason for that impressive milestone is the release of Solomon, who can turn a chunk of the map into a playable chessboard, treating allies as pawns to be repositioned out of danger or setting up deadly checkmates against enemies. As someone who is at best okay at chess, and admittedly terrible at Deadlock, I think I'll steer clear, but watching skilled Solomon players work their magic is moreish.
Considering Deadlock is still "limited access" through a friend referral program, it's wild to see hundreds of thousands of players pouring in at once. To put that figure into perspective, it's currently the fifth most-played game on Steam:
Right now, it ranks above Apex Legends, Wardogs, Arc Raiders, and Rust. But even more impressively, it sits comfortably in the top 100 all-time Steam games at #71.
Valve isn't done with the 'City Never Sleeps' update, either. Solomon marks...
