Deadlock Player Count Dips Under 100k For First Time Since Testing
Deadlock shocked fans with a wildly successful playtest launch in August 2024. Since then, the game has gained a devoted following, attracted esports personalities and maintained a strong presence despite not being officially released. On October 2nd 2024, Deadlock's player count dipped below 100k for the first time in over a month — let's explore everything we know about Deadlock's current player count dip, past player count milestones and why the dip may be occurring.
Deadlock's Player Count Dip
According to Steam Database, a third-party site that analyzes Steam game metrics, Deadlock's player count dipped to 95,361 on October 2nd, 2024. This marks the first occasion in over a month that Deadlock's player count has gone below 100,000. The last time Deadlock's player base was below this threshold was on August 28, 2024, when players numbered 98,535 before skyrocketing throughout September.
Deadlock's Peak Player Count
Deadlock's peak player count occurred on September 2nd, 2024. At its highest point, the game had 171,490 active players. This means Deadlock gained over 70,000 new players in just four days from August 28th to September 2nd. The major spike happened after VALORANT influencer AverageJonas announced his departure to Deadlock and several other esports personalities recommended the game. For the rest of September 2024, Deadlock's player count remained above 100,000 despite experiencing routine dips during weekdays and activity spikes on weekends.
Why Did Deadlock's Player Count Go Down?
Deadlock's player count may be dipping for multiple reasons. Firstly, as September progressed, many school-age players returned to their classes. October is also a key month when studies become more intense and tests more frequent. Many players may have less time to play due to school and college.
In addition, Deadlock recently added fresh anti-cheats on September 26. Once the game identifies a cheater, it will allow the remaining players in a match to vote to turn them into a frog for the rest of the game or immediately kick them. This change arrived after Deadlock's greater behavior system was introduced on September 14. Deadlock's stricter cheating and behavior penalties may be filtering out rule-breaking players now that its player count is at a healthy level.
This is what cheaters will look like if you turn them into a frog using the new anti-cheat
— Deadlock Intel (@IntelDeadlock) September 26, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ECVx7uQAud
Deadlock's original plunge below 100,000 players also occurred on a weekday, when it already experiences routine dips. It's possible that all of these factors combined to create the perfect player base-reducing storm.
It's uncertain whether Deadlock's player count will continue to dip or if it will recover. The count has reduced consistently since September 29th, and reached a record low of 91K on October 3rd. It has started to recover over the weekend, returning back above the 100K mark on Sunday, October 6.
