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Valve's new MOBA Deadlock - a sort of cross between Dota and Overwatch - might not be fully released yet, or even accessible by vast portions of the public,but that hasn't stopped its latest update propelling it to being one of the most played games on Steam.

Yesterday, Valve released a huge City Never Sleeps update for Deadlock. This drastically overhauled the map, added six new heroes, introduced a deluge of fresh voice lines, and included multiple HUD and quality-of-life updates. It was a major moment for the game, which is still yet to get a release date.

Even so, those who do have access to Deadlock flew to it in droves. The game quickly climbed the rankings in Steam's most played category, and yesterday it reached 228,086 concurrent players,according to SteamDB - the largest figure in its history.

Among the many additions the Deadlock community has attached itself to in the City Never Sleeps update are the new voice lines. The update more than doubled the character interaction lines. The Deadlock Reddit page is full of highlights picked out by players, who are delighted to see more personality expressed by the game's growing cast of oddball characters.

Another highlight is the visual update to Deadlock's New York-inspired map: The Cursed Apple. Different segments are now themed distinctly, so the central blue lane is Broadway, the green lane is Greenwich, and the yellow lane is York. Between each lane are smaller districts such as the Theatre, Chinatown, the Haunted Lot, and the Plaza. Each lane and district have unique Haunts (PvE enemies) that fit the new look too. It's impressive stuff you can see for yourself on the Deadlock website.

As Deadlock continues to pick up steam (on Steam), you've got to wonder just how big this game can get as it inevitably chugs along to a full release. If you want to play Deadlock, you'll have to find someone with access who can gift you an invite code. Get socialising!

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