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Deadlock (video game)

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For the unrelated 1996 game, see Deadlock: Planetary Conquest.

Deadlock
Placeholder cover art depicting the hero Haze, with the game's logo in the bottom right
Developer(s)Valve
Publisher(s)Valve
EngineSource 2
Platform(s)Windows
Genre(s)Third-person shooter, multiplayer online battle arena
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Deadlock is an upcoming third-person shooter and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed and published by Valve. The game features two teams with six players, with the goal being to destroy the enemy "patron", a floating orb entity. Initially known as Neon Prime, Deadlock was first leaked to the public in May 2024 while its Steam page was published publicly in August. It has since remained an invite-only game, reaching the 160,000 concurrent player count in September 2024.

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot of Deadlock during its closed playtest

Deadlock is a third-person shooter and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game,[1] featuring two teams with six players who battle each other. In each match, the twelve players control characters who split across three lanes in a large map.[2][3] To win, one team has to advance their "troopers", a category of non-player characters (NPCs) who fight alongside players, towards the enemy "patron", a floating orb entity, by defeating the other's team troopers and players who respawn in waves. Before defeating the patron, a team has to take down "guardians" and "walkers", entities which are located on the lanes and protect the patron. Its style of gameplay has been described as a mix of Overwatch, Dota 2, and Team Fortress 2.[3]

Throughout the game, a player can heal and retreat to their base.[3] Additionally, they can unlock items which can be bought in a shop using "souls" as a currency, such as items which increase the player's damage output, defense, and healing. It features various movement mechanics, including sliding and double jumping, while players can also travel through the lanes via zip lines and fans.[2][3] Initially, there were 20 characters available to play,[3] but this was later increased to 30.[4] Deadlock features characters such as a swordsman, sniper, and archer.[3]

Development

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Deadlock is being developed by Valve in the Source 2 video game engine.[3][5] Its development allegedly started in 2018.[6] In October 2022, Valve registered a trademark for Neon Prime, with video game journalists suggesting that it could be a new video game from the developer.[7][8] A data miner revealed that the game was potentially helmed by IceFrog, the developer of Dota 2, as part of the Dota series with sci-fi and MOBA elements.[9] Further details were reported from the same data miner in 2023, who described it as "a sci-fi-oriented third-person 'MOBA-lite' that looks like Overwatch mixed with [Team Fortress 2] mixed with Dota 2". He added that there was an external playtest of the game during the same period.[10] In August 2024, an annonymous Valve developer shared early footage of Deadlock.[11]

Deadlock was leaked to the public in May 2024 by playtesters,[12][13] revealing that Neon Prime was its previous name and that it evolved from a sci-fi oriented to a steampunk art style.[13] Gameplay details were also leaked, suggesting it as a third-person shooter taking place in a "modern steampunk European city". A data miner revealed that there were hundreds of playtesters by this point.[6] In late May, Valve trademarked Deadlock.[14] Valve published the Steam page for the game in August 2024,[15] with it being invite-only.[3] Its description read that it was in early development "with lots of temporary art and experimental gameplay", while the page also featured a teaser image and a short trailer.[15][16] Upon its publishment, developers removed the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) dialog box.[15][17] Before the publishment of its Store page, Deadlock had a concurrent player count of 20,000.[3] By September 2024, it reached 160,000 players.[18]

Since it was published publicly in August 2024, Valve has worked on adding anti-cheat detection.[19] In February 2025, Valve published an update in which it lowered the number of lanes from four to three.[20] Later in May 2025, Valve published an update in which the shop and items saw changes.[21]

Reception

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Early development

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While it was still internally known as Neon Prime, Oisin Kuhnke of VG247 described the map's looks as "sci-fi/cyberpunk, [...] futuristic, [and] Japan-inspired".[18]

Sean Hollister of The Verge published a full review of the game in its early development in August 2024. He noted that since he had not signed a NDA, he was open to review it, despite a dialog box telling him not to share any information about it with others. He was subsequently banned from playing the game.[3] Some readers responded negatively to the article's publication.[22][23] Wired's Megan Farokhmanesh speculated that the secretive release strategy was a deliberate publicity stunt to tempt players to leak the game, building hype around it.[22] Aftermath's Riley MacLeod defended Hollister's reporting, saying that although ignoring Valve's request may have been impolite, Hollister was not legally nor professionally obligated to keep the details secret and had not violated journalistic ethics.[23]

Writing for PC Gamer, Lincoln Carpenter described the main menu music as "straight out of a Tim Burton joint".[1] Ash Parrish of The Verge compared the map's looks to City 17 from Half-Life 2,[12] while Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer compared the game to BioShock Infinite.[24] Matt Cox of Eurogamer praised the map's looks, describing it as "alternative-world fantasy goth New York", adding that it "oozes personality".[2] Ted Litchfield, also of PC Gamer, wrote that it was "hard not to be excited" for a new Valve game and would play it on day one.[25]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Carpenter, Lincoln (August 27, 2024). "Deadlock's Occult New York Setting Already Has Such Excellent Vibes That I Might Become A MOBA Guy Just To See Where Valve Takes It". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 10, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Cox, Matt (February 27, 2025). "Deadlock's Biggest Update Yet Marks A Threshold Moment: Now's Time To Grab Yourself An Invite". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hollister, Sean (August 13, 2024). "We Played Valve's Secret New Shooter, Deadlock". The Verge. Archived from the original on May 21, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  4. ^ Fanelli, Jason (May 2, 2025). "Valve's Deadlock Has A Super-Secret Invite-Only Alpha Different From The Known Invite-Only Alpha". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 9, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  5. ^ Wagner, Justin (September 12, 2024). "As Team Fortress 2 Veterans Gaze At Deadlock With Interest And Envy, Steadfast Fans Are Still Waiting For Valve To Notice Them". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Purdy, Kevin (May 17, 2024). "Leaks From Valve's Deadlock Look Like A Pressed Sandwich Of Every Game Around". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  7. ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (October 14, 2022). "Valve Registers Mystery Video Game Trademark for 'Neon Prime'". IGN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  8. ^ Ostler, Anne-Marie (October 14, 2022). "Valve Sets The Rumour Mill In Motion With New "Neon Prime" Trademark". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  9. ^ Michael, Cale (October 26, 2022). "Valve's Secret Neon Prime Project Could Be A New Sci-Fi Dota Game". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  10. ^ Robertson, Scott (June 1, 2023). "Data Miner Claims Valve's Next Game Blends Overwatch, TF2, And Dota 2—And We Might See It This Year". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  11. ^ Phillips Kennedy, Victoria (August 27, 2024). "Deadlock Prototype Had Half-Life 2's Antlions Marching Along Beside You". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Parrish, Ash (May 17, 2024). "Valve's Next Game May Have Just Leaked". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 14, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Park, Morgan (May 17, 2024). "Valve's Next Game Rumored To Be A 6V6 Hero Shooter Called Deadlock". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  14. ^ Blake, Vikki (June 1, 2024). "Valve Trademarks Deadlock, The Hero Shooter It Still Won't Confirm Exists". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Peters, Jay; Hollister, Sean (August 24, 2024). "Valve Officially Announces Deadlock, A Game 'In Early Development'". The Verge. Archived from the original on March 5, 2025. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Orland, Kyl (August 26, 2024). "Valve's Worst-Kept Secret Is No Longer A Secret". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  17. ^ Vergara, Nico (August 24, 2024). "Valve Finally Unveils Deadlock on Steam, Access Is Still "Limited To Friend Invite" Via Playtesters". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Kuhnke, Oisin (September 2, 2024). "As Deadlock Soars To A Six Figure Player Count on Steam, Take An Early Look At Valve's Latest When It Was A Lot More Sci-Fi, And A Lot Less Unique". VG247. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  19. ^ Blake, Vikki (September 16, 2024). "Valve Working on Deadlock Anti-Cheat Measures But They're Not In Place Yet". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 2, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  20. ^ Van Allen, Eric (February 25, 2025). "Valve's MOBA Shooter Deadlock Cuts A Lane, Spurring Reactions From Its Playerbase". IGN. Archived from the original on June 2, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  21. ^ Faulkner, Cheri (May 9, 2025). "Valve Completely Reworks Deadlock Item Shop, Adding "Many" New Items". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 11, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  22. ^ a b Farokhmanesh, Megan (August 13, 2024). "Thousands of People Are Playing Valve's Secret New Shooter Right Now". Wired. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  23. ^ a b MacLeod, Riley (August 13, 2024). "Valve's Baffling Deadlock Decisions Don't Need Defending". Aftermath. Archived from the original on March 28, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  24. ^ Wilde, Tyler (May 22, 2024). "Leaked Video Of Alleged Valve Hero Shooter Deadlock Kinda Looks Like BioShock Infinite". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 6, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
  25. ^ Litchfield, Ted (August 13, 2024). "We Can All See That Valve's Unannounced Shooter Deadlock Just Hit Over 18,000 Concurrent Players, Gabe". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 14, 2025. Retrieved July 27, 2025.
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