Deadlock passed 228,000 concurrent players on Steam after Valve released City Never Sleeps on September 29. SteamDB recorded the new peak less than an hour after launch, surpassing the previous high of more than 171,000 set on August 9, when access was still invite-only.
City Never Sleeps arrived more than eight months after Old Gods, New Blood. Playtesting and iteration took longer than planned, pushing Valve’s next major update into a late-September window.
The Cursed Apple map overhaul gives its lanes distinct identities. Broadway runs through the middle, while Greenwich’s green route passes Umbria University, Central Park, and The Brownstones. York’s yellow lane connects the Stock Exchange, Seaport Dock, and Old Fairfax Factories. Neutral camps now feature creatures specific to their areas, and the Theater District, Chinatown, Haunted Lot, and Plaza each have their own visual themes.
A hands-on look at the overhaul highlights the lanes’ contrasting scenery. Broadway’s neon signs, tall buildings, and highway frame the central route. York has broader industrial streets, with a New York Stock Exchange building near Archmother’s base. Greenwich shifts toward earthy, witchy surroundings, where a huge climbable tree offers a perch above the center lane. The four districts also have updated Haunts, while the Hidden King and Archmother bases remain unchanged.
Several locations add new risks and rewards. Purple mist beneath Plaza drains stamina and muffles sound. Chinatown’s Bell Tower offers Souls, but using it alerts nearby players. Tough crates require a heavy melee attack to open, golden statues grant permanent stat bonuses, and flying apples restore health. Steam vents along Broadway let players recover while hidden in the smog.
The Broker is a temporary match vendor who appears around the 30-minute mark and returns roughly every 15 minutes. Players can trade items for corrupted versions with stronger stats and a randomized drawback. Valve says the Broker will disappear after the first new hero arrives, though he may return at random later.
Match information is easier to track without leaving the shop. A popular-items tab draws on live player data, and chat, the kill feed, and the scoreboard remain available while players browse. The event feed identifies the ability or item behind a kill and shows the resulting personal and overall bounties. Training tools include recorded bot actions, DPS meters, speed graphs, and a detailed combat log.
Valve has also added more than 15,000 new or updated pings and over 10,000 voice lines. Accessibility options include adjustable UI colors, customizable dialogue subtitles, reduced camera shake, and settings for auto-move, auto-mantle, and auto-fire.
Six heroes will arrive over three weeks, beginning Friday, October 2. Rat King, Nurse Harrow, Solomon, explosives expert Deadman Danny, Violet, and tea-drinking Baba are scheduled to release on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2:00 p.m. PT, 5:00 p.m. ET, 10:00 p.m. BST, and 11:00 p.m. CEST. Baba’s design reimagines Baba Yaga’s chicken-legged hut as a New York park bench, bringing the folklore figure into Cursed Apple’s city setting. Players vote in the pregame lobby, with the winning team receiving double votes and an extra doubling bonus available for a player’s first win of the day. Posters let players show support for a hero, while matches earn priority tokens that can help secure access as each one arrives.
In its first development update, Valve says City Never Sleeps is not a sign that Deadlock is close to a public release. The game remains invite-only, and the studio still has core work to finish before moving into later polish. Valve says keeping Deadlock in players’ hands early helps the team learn what works and reduce the risks of building a multiplayer game.
Progression, hero customization, and hideout customization are still being developed. Valve wants room to adjust those systems through player feedback before the game is fully released. Larger item changes and alternative game modes are also being tested, but Valve has not decided whether they will ship, even though early playtesting has been promising.
An X post pointing to early Wardrobe concept art in Deadlock’s files shows what appears to be a raincoat outfit for Rem. The image suggests a possible direction for hero customization, not a finalized cosmetic system.
There's an early Wardrobe concept art in Deadlock files that shows heroes in alternative outfits and it looks like Rem is going to have a rain coat: models/heroes_wip/familiar/familiar_rainday.vmdl
models/hideout/materials/ hideout_wardrobe_display_bg_color_png_11fd48a6.vtex… pic.twitter.com/XPlz8JB717
— Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) September 30, 2026
Older heroes may also receive visual updates sooner than Valve originally expected. The team now expects to work on those changes gradually in the near future and include them in upcoming updates alongside other development work. Valve’s plans still put parts of the core game ahead of broader polish, with Midboss, Guardians, and Walkers needing attention before the team can consider that work complete.
Which City Never Sleeps change do you think will have the biggest effect during a match? Follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
Deadlock
Developed by Valve
