Deadlock hype from major streamers, early fans and esports athletes after Valve opens floodgates

Valve finally revealed Deadlock last Friday after months of pretending it didn't exist. Valve gave the go-ahead for the public to discuss the closed alpha test of the third person shooter MOBA. This allowed streamer takes, social media discussions, and fan sites to finally refer to it in the open. Now that it's no longer a crime to mention its name, Deadlock players have shared their thoughts. Many of them believe Valve is preparing another hit.

Deadlock is already a favorite among streamers. Michael "Shroud", the 10th most followed Twitch streamer according to Socialblade has been streaming Deadlock every day since its official launch. Shroud said, in a Twitch video: "This game will easily -- and I mean easily -- take over." Shroud also praised Deadlock for its mechanical depth and called it "probably the greatest third-person shooter I've played."

Sean "Day[9] Plott," who hosts our PC Gaming Show, has quietly fallen in love with Deadlock during its elephant-in the-room era. Day[9] tweeted that he could now publicly declare Deadlock to be his favorite game. "I generally dislike shooters, because I'm terrible at them," he added. Esports players have also shown a strong interest, such as former Dota 2 International Champion Dendi who has logged more than a dozen Deadlock streams since last Friday.

Deadlock will be judged by history based solely on its fanart, just as it would any other hero-based video game. Once Valve approved public Deadlock discussions, fanartists rushed to share their work in celebration of their new favorite characters.

Deadlock's in game chat is also a hot topic of discussion. It shows players' messages appearing from their character portraits, as if Deadlock charismatic heroes had started communicating directly through shitpost.

Deadlock held its first tournament with cash prizes over the weekend. Yesterday, eight teams participated in The Downtown Showdown - a community-organized event with a $1500 prize fund. This was for a game still in its early testing phase.

Deadlock may be laying the foundations for an active fan community, but Valve is the only one who knows how long we will have to wait until its full release. If you're interested in playing the MOBA, here's how to join the Deadlock playtest.