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Deadlock
Release date		TBA Early Development Build April 24, 2024
Genre(s)		Third-person shooter, MOBA
Developer		Valve Corporation
Distribution		Steam
Designer(s)		IceFrog, Hopoo
Writer(s)		Steve Jaros
Engine		Source 2
Platform(s)		Microsoft Windows Linux via Proton
Latest version		August 22, 2026
Links		Steam page Official forums
Website		playdeadlock.com

Deadlock is an upcoming third-person shooter MOBA developed by Valve Corporation. It was first publicly announced on August 23, 2024, though it initially gained public attention after being leaked by playtesters earlier that year. The game is still in development and is currently being played through a Closed Beta Early Development Build, access to which can only be provided by accepting a Steam Playtest invite requested by a Steam friend who already has access.

Gameplay

Main article: Mechanics

Deadlock being played during its closed beta in 2025. Pocket and their teammates attack the enemy Patron

In Deadlock's standard mode, two teams of 6 players, The Hidden King and The Archmother, battle through 3 lanes of New York. Each team fights on behalf of a god, called a Patron. The objective is to destroy the enemy's Patron while defending your own to complete the ritual. Players control Heroes with upgradable abilities, and items are bought using souls. Souls are earned by defeating enemies and completing tasks. They can also unlock 'boons' from Patrons, which boost Hero stats.

Heroes level up, unlock abilities, and equip Weapon, Vitality, and Spirit items in slots. Additional Flex slots are unlocked by completing objectives.

The game blends elements of shooters and MOBAs. It focuses on tactics, teamwork, and strategy, with third-person skill shots, movement, and gunplay. It also has a unique zipline system for long-distance transportation.

In addition to the standard gamemode, Deadlock also offers a ranked mode for more competitive play, and a 4v4 roguelike gamemode called Street Brawl, where players fight in one lane over short rounds.

Setting & Theme

Main article: Lore

In the world of Deadlock, occult rituals and magic anomalies are part of everyday life. The game takes place in an alternate version of early 20th century New York called The Cursed Apple. Two covenants battle to complete the Ritual and summon their Patron, a god capable of granting wishes. Each character has their own wishes and reason for wanting to summon the Patron, and their fates collide on the streets of New York. The game's setting is an urban fantasy with strong occult themes and elements of noir, gothic, and dieselpunk fiction.

Development

Deadlock was first officially teased by Valve in the digital book The Final Hours of Half-Life Alyx (2020), which mentioned "a top-secret new project that another small team at Valve has been working on since the first part of 2018". It was initially known as Citadel before evolving into a sci-fi third-person MOBA called Neon Prime. Valve trademarked Neon Prime in October 2022, but its playtesters were reportedly critical of the game's art style and poor visibility, causing Neon Prime to be reworked into Shadowline later that year and then Deadlock.

The currently ongoing Deadlock closed playtest began on April 2024, when the official forums and Discord server were created, and the name was trademarked by Valve on May 2024. The game was leaked on various occasions from 2019 to 2024, and Valve listed the game on Steam in August 2024, after its playtest had already reached tens of thousands of concurrent players.

While Deadlock hasn't been promoted by Valve beyond its Steam page, various Valve employees, contractors and voice actors have acknowledged their work on the game on social media, and it was mentioned in the Half-Life 2 anniversary documentary on November 2024.

In May 2025, a second private Deadlock build was accidentally shared in a livestream, revealing then-upcoming new heroes and redesigns for existing heroes.

Development Timeline

Date	Events
Early 2018	Creation of Citadel
April 2019	First Citadel leaks in Dota 2 files
September 2020	Neon Prime appID added on Steam, first leaks found in Dota 2 files
2020-2022	Development of Neon Prime
October 2022	Neon Prime trademark registered
Late 2022	Neon Prime canceled, transition to Shadowline/Deadlock
Early 2023-July 2023	Development of Caldera_trooper map (art style transition)
Late 2023	Development of Cursed Apple map
November 2023	playshadowline.com domain registered
February 2024	Deadlock tutorial videos recorded
April 2024	Beginning of playtest, creation of forums and Discord server
May 2024	First Deadlock leaks, trademark registered, email invite system
June 2024	Steam friend invite system
August 2024	Steam page created, embargo lifted, forums made public
February 2025	Map Rework update
May 2025	Shop Rework update
August 2025	Six New Heroes update
January 2026	Old Gods, New Blood update, playdeadlock.com updated
July 2026	Matchmaking update

Invites

Getting access to the game will NEVER require clicking a link or making a payment. Any player with access to Deadlock can invite an unlimited number of Steam friends.

Here are recommended resources to get an invite:

• Deadlock Steam forums
• Reddit r/DeadlockTheGame invite megathread

• Deadlock Community Discord invite thread

An invite can take minutes to hours to be processed, and has to be accepted by the player. If the invite notification doesn't appear after a few hours, check your Steam playtest invites. If a player has refused an invite in the past, they may be unable to receive a new one.

Official forums

Once a player has joined the game, they can click the "give feedback" button in the main menu to create a forum account and join the official Discord server. Please note that the Discord link is one use only.

Gallery

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  Logo
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  Title screen
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  Old cover art
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  Old main menu screen
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  3 lane update art
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  Concept art
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  Concept art
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  Concept art
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  Concept art
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  Concept art
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  Old logo

Trivia

• Deadlock is Valve's first video game with an entirely original IP (not based on a mod, a sequel or spin-off of an existing IP, or acquired from third-party developers) since the original Half-Life.
• Deadlock is Valve's second game in the MOBA genre after Dota 2, which it often references.