We can all see Valve's unannounced shooting game Deadlock has just reached over 18,000 concurrent users.

Valve is preparing to release its first game in four years. We already know a lot about it. We've seen dozens Deadlock characters and their complete movesets on YouTube. Not bad for a title that hasn't been announced.

SteamDB allows you to track the fluctuations in Deadlock's crypto player base. Pavel Djundik is the creator of the utility. He claims that Valve did nothing to stop the public from viewing the details of Deadlock’s playtest. The studio certainly seems to have been increasing the size of Deadlock’s playtest: today's peak of 18254 players represents an increase of 578% over last month's maximum.

It's hard to not be excited about a new Valve game: I'm no longer a big multiplayer shooter fan, but I'm ready to jump in from the first day. According to the leaks, Deadlock appears to be a hero-shooter with strong MOBA elements--creeps and lanes, as well as an in-match shop for purchasing upgrades. It also has a large cast of visually distinct character with special abilities that will affect the course of battle along with more traditional third-person shooting.

The response is so Valve that it is comical. It is certainly better than what we would expect from most publishers. The stony silence adds to Deadlock’s mystique. Valve has deliberately let things slide as if this is all part of their plan. This hullabaloo is essentially free advertising and when the official announcement comes, it won't have the bad feelings that a more aggressive response could engender.