Valve released a major update for its multiplayer hero shooter Deadlock on Tuesday, adding six new characters and a new map that pushed the game’s concurrent player count to a new peak. The City Never Sleeps update introduced a New York City-themed map and replaced the game’s neutral creatures with a set of new entities called Haunts, including Specimen, Past Dues, Gutter Ghouls, Barrel Mimics, Stage Hands, Crabbage Pots, Festival Spirit, Shrooms, and Underhands. Player counts on SteamDB rose above 228,000 concurrents shortly after the update went live, marking the highest concurrent audience recorded for the title to date.

Valve also shared development progress in a statement, noting that work on Deadlock remains ongoing and is not yet near completion. The company said it continues to refine core systems before moving toward broader polish phases, such as updating older hero artwork. The team highlighted that several features developed in parallel are included in the City Never Sleeps rollout, while others remain in testing and may or may not be released depending on playtesting results. These include large item redesigns, additions, and alternate game modes that could expand the game’s scope.

The update adds six new heroes with New York-inspired themes: Nurse Harrow, Rat King, Solomon, Deadman Danny, Baba, and Violet. Rat King appears alongside a pizza rat motif, while Solomon is portrayed as a competitive chess player. Baba, described as an elderly woman who interacts with pigeons, joins the roster as part of the new cohort. Players can vote within the game to determine which of the six heroes will be released first.

Additional details about the City Never Sleeps update are available on the official Deadlock website.