How many people are playing Deadlock?

Valve has been cooking up a new game, Deadlock, which offers a MOBA-like approach in the shooter genre. But how many people are already playing?

Like Marvel Rivals, Deadlock is a third-person shooter with many characters that have unique abilities and ultimates. Though still not out, it’s already amassed a significant player base, with the earliest pre-announcement leaks suggesting it already had over 200,000 players—though it’s gotten far beyond those numbers by now.

If you’re wondering how many people are playing Deadlock, here’s the player count info.

Deadlock player count in 2024

Deadlock has been averaging well over 100,000 players daily in September 2024, hitting an all-time peak of 171,490 players on Sept. 2. The boost to its numbers can be attributed to Valve allowing participating players to send invitations to their Steam friends to get into the playtest and its official announcement. Considering Valve is letting more players participate in the closed alpha, we can expect Deadlock’s player count to increase in the coming weeks.

To access the Deadlock alpha playtest, you must already have a friend on your Steam friends list in the closed test. Your friend can then send you an invitation, after which Steam sends you an invitation to your email to add your account to the alpha.

Valve is yet to announce an open beta for Deadlock, so apart from having a friend invite you, there’s no way to access the game. The devs are slowly opening the floodgates to properly stress-test the game, so ensure you’re keeping an eye on your registered emails for the Steam invite.

When is Deadlock coming out?

Unfortunately for everyone eager to get the game, Valve still hasn’t announced any release date or window for Deadlock. The game is in very, very early development and likely won’t have an open alpha, beta, or full release for quite a while. However, from how the game looks and feels, as well as some other slight decisions Valve has made recently, I can speculate on a potential release window.

The Deadlock forums no longer have placeholder names as of early August, and now exist under the “playdeadlock” web address, implying Valve is slowly but surely getting ready for a broader reveal with official websites to promote the game. On the other hand, the game’s map seems generally finished and fleshed out, as do most of its available heroes, which could mean that Valve is now focused on expanding the roster and tweaking the existing heroes to get them ready for a full launch. How long this will precisely take is unclear, though an open beta or early access could potentially drop by the middle of next year, if not earlier.

Keep in mind that Deadlock has been kept under wraps for a long time, only recently being opened to the public with relaxed invitation and streaming limitations, so any potential release date or window is very difficult to determine. In the meantime, check out our many build guides for Deadlock‘s heroes and enjoy the limited game we have available now.