Valve’s Deadlock, the newest third-person team shooter MOBA currently in early access, has gained a new spark of sorts with a slew of updates rolling out over August and into September.

When the game first leaked on X and became first accessible to gamers, its player base quickly shot up in number, with excitement nearly immediately coming to a boiling point as everyone seemed interested in what Valve was cooking up for their newest game. However, just like an overheated water kettle, all that was left once excitement died down was a hot metal surface with all the water evaporated. The game was unfinished, leading Steam charts to show that the game had fallen from its maximum player count of 171,500 players in September to as few as 14,000 by May. At that point in Deadlock’s development, many ideas and assets were still being phased out from the game’s earlier iteration, Neon Prime. This, in turn, left Deadlock’s identity trapped in two different places, one of them, cyberpunk, the other, steampunk. This fact, paired with the game still being in early development, led the experience to feel—as many gamers online expressed—gray.

After a slew of updates and a fresh coat of paint over the last month, however, Valve has seemingly breathed life back into their game with a social Hideout area, six new playable heroes alongside a brand new hero selection screen, and an overhaul of the in-game universal item shop, maps, and lanes.

The social Hideout is where you will be dropped upon booting up the game, as opposed to the traditional and flat user interface menu that was present in the older iteration of Deadlock from 2024. The Hideout largely operates the same as the game’s old menu, however, with the addition of a built-in shooting range and shop. While in the Hideout, you can invite friends before queuing for a game, enter the sandbox area to test out a build or a specific character, learn the game’s mechanics through its short tutorials, and watch games to get a feel for how Deadlock is meant to be played. The addition of the Hideout largely suits the new player experience, affording a space to figure out just what character and build one might want to go for first, while also serving as a contextual piece to the lore Valve seems to be building up.

Deadlock’s shop and items system, likely one of the more confusing parts of the game and MOBAs in general for many casual players, was hopefully made easier to digest as items have received brand new icons to better illustrate what they do. The overhaul of the build browser allows for an easier time navigating its menu, which enables the authoring and sharing of premade builds, a change that further enhances the new player experience. For many players new to MOBAs, this feature will help tremendously in reducing the confusion and mental clutter that comes with needing to juggle your build and items alongside the team fights and objectives.

The true catalyst for the return of players to Deadlock after these updates has been the gradual release of six brand new heroes. At the time of their slow release at the end of August, players would vote on the order of each new hero’s release. The list of these new arrivals to Deadlock‘s roster includes Mina the vampire, Billy the demonic goat, Paige, who can bring books to life, The Doorman, who’s always at your service, Victor the monster who can’t be stopped, and Drifter, who terrorizes the city.

Since the release of these updates and new heroes, Deadlock’s recent maximum player count has jumped to 62,000. Despite being lower than the game’s all-time high observed back in late 2024, there is now a steadier player base than before, with more room to grow as Valve gradually releases more updates and ultimately prepares for its final release.