Valve May Have A New Franchise In The Works ▉

Ash Parrish at The Verge:

Valve’s next game appears to be a multiplayer hero shooter known as Deadlock. This is according to leaks from playtesters posted on social media earlier today, with some of the details verified by known Valve dataminer @GabeFollower and Valve watcher Tyler McVicker.

I did not have Valve creating a new IP on my 2024 Bingo card.

Deadlock wasn’t a game Valve gave any indication was in the works, so its reveal is certainly surprising. Earlier this week, GabeFollower shared more information about Deadlock on their X page, writing that the game is “fast-paced interesting ADHD gameplay. Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die.” The Verge has reached out to Valve for comment.

That’s… an interesting mix of influences. I’ve never played Smite or Orcs Must Die but I am familiar with the rest of the pack here. DOTA 2 regularly tops the Steam charts and a quick glance at the Twitch charts as I write this shows DOTA 2, Valorant and Overwatch 2 in the top 20 categories.

Valorant and Overwatch play similarly, but DOTA 2 does not. DOTA 2 and Smite seem to have more in common with each other. Orcs and TF 2 have nothing in common with any of the other games other than the teamwork aspect.

Either way, Valve is known for taking their time and geting things right. It’ll be interesting to see the final product, whenever it ships.

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