This is getting ridiculous: It looks like one of Deadlock's leakers has made it so you can see the unannounced Valve shooter's playtest concurrents, hero code names, and update history on SteamDB (2024)

This is getting ridiculous: It looks like one of Deadlock's leakers has made it so you can see the unannounced Valve shooter's playtest concurrents, hero code names, and update history on SteamDB (1)

Recent updates

SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik has clarified that the Deadlock entry on SteamDB did not originate through the token dumper system on SteamDB, but rather that "someone submitted a Steam key which the bot activated." It is unclear what this implies about the entry's origin or veracity.

First spotted by Valve-focused Twitter account wickedplayer494, it looks like a playtester for the unannounced Valve shooter Deadlock has made the game visible on SteamDB via the site's token dumper feature, allowing anyone to see Deadlock's player count, update history, and other details.

Valve has still neither confirmed nor denied the veracity of the numerous alleged Deadlock leaks we've seen over the past week. Having been through the NieR Automata Secret Church Saga, I'm not clearing them as 100% legit until the big V weighs in, but the sheer quality and quantity of videos and details from multiple sources all corroborating each other makes it hard to believe Deadlock is some kind of elaborate hoax.

And I really don't think anyone could have faked this SteamDB entry. Wickedplayer494 posited that the page originated through SteamDB's token dumper, which allows players of restricted games that the site's tools cannot pull from—usually delisted, unreleased, or otherwise made private⁠—to confer that access to the site. SteamDB creator Pavel Djundik has clarified that the entry did not come through the token dumper, but that "someone submitted a Steam key which the bot activated."

The update history for one of Deadlock's packages, "Project 8 - Staging for Beta Testing" dates all the way back to 2020, and the parent Deadlock package on SteamDB has 186 concurrent players at the time of writing. For this to be fake, someone would have had to take a private Steam app that's been in existence in some form for four years, arrange for nearly 200 real or automated users to access it at the same time, and then dump its token.

Aside from concurrents, update history, and the Project 8 code name, we can see that there are currently both Windows and Linux builds of Deadlock⁠—that makes sense with Valve's Linux-based SteamOS, though I also wouldn't have been surprised if the dev had just gone all in on Proton compatibility instead. One Deadlock depot looks like it contains tutorial information, with the file name "getting_started_movement_zipline" dovetailing with the Bioshock Infinite-style rail system we've seen in some of the leaks.

Another depot contains UI data that seems to include the names (or at least code names) of 25 playable characters⁠—two more than featured in a YouTube video purporting to show all of the hero abilities in the game. "Inferno" corresponds to the flaming gunslinger we've seen elsewhere, "Infernus," while Yamato strikes me as an easy fit for the samurai character from the leaks⁠—I've included the full list of "hero_prefabs" names below, excluding the one labeled "default":

  • abrams
  • archer
  • astro
  • bebop
  • chrono
  • digger
  • forge
  • geist
  • gigawatt
  • haze
  • hornet
  • inferno
  • kelvin
  • lash
  • mirage
  • nano
  • pocket
  • prof_dynamo
  • shiv
  • tengu
  • viscous
  • warden
  • wraith
  • wrecker
  • yamato

And that's not even everything in Depot 1422456—I didn't have time to comb through all 30 pages of filenames in time for publication. The audacity of this particular leak really gets me: the player count and a huge number of file names for a private playtest of an unannounced new Valve game, right there for our perusal.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

Knowing Valve's previous communication strategy, the company will likely not comment on any of this until it's good and ready for a full Deadlock reveal, and that's probably the right move. Honestly, the funniest possible outcomes would be for Valve to just never release Deadlock⁠ (the company has priors), or for it to have indeed been a hoax all along despite the evidence suggesting otherwise. Neither of those seem likely given the sheer extent of what we've seen, though.

Ted Litchfield

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

More about third person shooter

Over 90 Deadlock videos have now leaked, but Valve's still acting like nothing's happened

Latest

MSI reveals an intriguing motherboard with CAMM2 memory support
See more latest►

See comments

Most Popular
With a new edition on the way, the current version of life-devouring fantasy board game Talisman goes free to play
Baldur's Gate 3 head writer reveals we almost got to revisit the first game's 'academic dungeon' prologue area, Candlekeep
Optimize your production chains in the free preview for minimalist sim Masterplan Tycoon
This is getting ridiculous: It looks like one of Deadlock's leakers has made it so you can see the unannounced Valve shooter's playtest concurrents, hero code names, and update history on SteamDB
Here's a mystery game about salami starring a duck
The modern remake of seminal RPG Wizardry is finished and out now
Bungie wins a little walkin' around money in first of its kind jury trial against Destiny 2 cheat maker, but the victory will likely make it even easier for game companies to keep taking cheaters to court
Tiny Glade's castle-doodling demo is packed with delightful little reactive surprises
Today's Wordle answer for Saturday, May 25
Families of Uvalde victims sue Activision, say Call of Duty is 'the most prolific and effective marketer of assault weapons in the United States'
Thanks to Modern Horizons 3, my 'white weenie' Magic deck is about to get even more obnoxious
This is getting ridiculous: It looks like one of Deadlock's leakers has made it so you can see the unannounced Valve shooter's playtest concurrents, hero code names, and update history on SteamDB (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Pres. Lawanda Wiegand

Last Updated:

Views: 6063

Rating: 4 / 5 (71 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Pres. Lawanda Wiegand

Birthday: 1993-01-10

Address: Suite 391 6963 Ullrich Shore, Bellefort, WI 01350-7893

Phone: +6806610432415

Job: Dynamic Manufacturing Assistant

Hobby: amateur radio, Taekwondo, Wood carving, Parkour, Skateboarding, Running, Rafting

Introduction: My name is Pres. Lawanda Wiegand, I am a inquisitive, helpful, glamorous, cheerful, open, clever, innocent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.