Steam is the leading gaming platform and is used daily by millions of players. Many developers therefore offer their games on Steam, but they must adhere to various rules. Valve, the developers of Steam, have now broken one of these rules themselves.
What rule has Valve broken? On Steam, it is required that a game’s Steam page contains screenshots. These screenshots should only show gameplay and not marketing or concept art. Furthermore, at least 5 screenshots are required (via Steamworks).
Valve recently released the Steam page for their upcoming multiplayer game, officially presenting Deadlock for the first time. However, there are neither screenshots nor trailers or gameplay on the game’s Steam page.
The absence of at least 5 screenshots constitutes a violation of the rules set by Valve themselves.
Hero shooter with MOBA elements
What kind of game is Deadlock actually? Not much is officially known about Deadlock yet. Valve only describes it as a multiplayer game. However, an alpha test is already underway, and gameplay and first impressions have been shared.
Accordingly, Deadlock is a hero shooter in which 2 teams consisting of 5 players compete against each other. Each hero has different weapons and 4 different abilities. The principle is reminiscent of Overwatch, but unlike Blizzard’s shooter, Deadlock is played from a third-person perspective.
Additionally, Deadlock apparently has similarities with MOBAs like DOTA 2 or League of Legends. There seem to be lanes and “tower defense” aspects. Some players have therefore coined the term MOBA shooter.
You can play Deadlock if your friends have access
How you can test Deadlock: Currently, an alpha test for Deadlock is running. You can participate if you receive an invitation. You can get an invitation either from Valve or from a friend who already has access.
Valve also points out that the MOBA shooter is still in an early phase of development and includes temporary graphics as well as experimental gameplay. Still, Deadlock has already seen thousands of players on Steam before there was an official announcement on the Steam page: New game from Valve has thousands of players on Steam, even though it hasn’t even been announced
