Neon Prime

“Dead.”

This page contains game content that has been removed from the game.

Neon Prime was an early development version of Deadlock. It was created after Citadel.

Neon Prime screenshot

Many of Deadlock's current features and assets have been inherited from Neon Prime, and are expected to be updated or replaced over the course of development.

Neon Prime Mods menu

Setting

Main article: Neon Prime lore

Neon Prime had a Cyberpunk sci-fi aesthetic featuring supernatural elements.

The game took place in an alien world called Fracture, a former prison planet that was taken over by inmates and turned into a tourism hotspot where crime is legal. The game matches were elections in the form of organized bloodsports in the city center, in which each team represented a mayor candidate.

Neon Prime Early HUD

Gameplay

The gameplay of Neon Prime was similar to Deadlock. 6 players on each side would use ziplines (then called hyperlines) to traverse 4 lanes and fight guardians and walkers to destroy an enemy boss called the Titan. The players would unlock tech (abilities) and use coins to buy items, called mods. In Neon Prime, the players had 6 item slots for each category instead of 4.

A notable difference is that Neon Prime had a 3-hit combo melee system, instead of Deadlock's light and heavy melee.

There were two major versions of the Neon Prime map. V1 was developed around 2021 and was set during daylight. V2 was developed around 2022 and was set during night time.

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Neon Prime tutorials and gameplay footage (unofficial logo)

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  Neon Prime 3-hit combo

Heroes

A list of known Neon Prime heroes and their Deadlock counterparts.

Note: A number of unused heroes currently accessible in-game via console commands, like Cadence or Rutger, aren't listed here because there isn't enough evidence that they were created for Neon Prime.

Hero Name	Fate	Notes
Akimbo	Removed
Astro	Became Holliday	Was in a relationship with Forge
Atlas	Became Abrams	Atlas wore a jetpack
Ballista	Removed	Used to be in a relationship with Lash
Bebop	Stayed	Same as current model
Butcher	Became Wrecker
Chrono	Became Paradox	Was the leader of the Paradox organization
Digger	Became Mo & Krill
Forge	Became McGinnis	Same as current model, was in a relationship with Astro
Gigawatt	Became Seven
Haze	Stayed	Original design was an alien with long ears
Heavy	Removed	Based on Heavy from Team Fortress 2
Hornet	Became Vindicta	Had wings
Inferno	Became Infernus	Was a man in an orange sci-fi uniform
Kali	Accessible via console commands	Was a retired Bear Pit fighter. Animations were reused for Ivy. Viper's model is currently based on Kali's
Kelvin	Stayed	Had an astronaut suit that was reworked as Viscous' current model
Lash	Stayed	Owned a dojo, used to be in a relationship with Ballista
Murphy	Became Warden	The name was reused for Captain Murphy in Holliday's storyline
Nano	Became Calico	Had metallic implants in her head and arms
Orion	Became Grey Talon	Similar to current model, but used to be bald, had a long beard and wore goggles
Shiv	Stayed	Same as current model, but with a red shirt and metallic arm
Skymonk	Removed
Spectre	Became Lady Geist	Also known as Ghost. Was a man wearing a cape and hood
Sumo	Became Dynamo	Also known as Jeong. Was an Asian chef and black market smuggler
Synth	Became Pocket
Tengu	Became Ivy	Was a person wearing a red yokai mask
Viscous	Stayed	Portrait was a blowfish in a green suit
Wraith	Stayed	Went through multiple iterations, including a woman with a purple arm and a magician with handcuffed hands and two ghost arms
Yamato	Stayed	Same as current model, with different colors

Gallery

Gameplay

• 
  Night-time gameplay
• 
  Night-time gameplay
• 
  Daytime gameplay

Heroes

• 
  Haze
• 
  Gigawatt
• 
  Viscous
• 
  Forge
• 
  Shiv
• 
  Bebop
• 
  Chrono
• 
  Nano
• 
  Digger
• 
  Yamato
• 
  Kelvin
• 
  Inferno
• 
  Lash
• 
  Inferno
• 
  Spectre
• 
  Sumo
• 
  Wraith
• 
  Kali
• 
  Kelvin
• 
  Tengu
• 
  Haze
• 
  Hornet
• 
  Edited Haze icon, used as Cadence's temp icon
• 
  Gigawatt icon
• 
  Sumo using Black Hole
• 
  Shiv
• 
  Nano
• 
  Yamato

NPCs

• 
  Trooper
• 
  Trooper 2
• 
  Healing Trooper
• 
  Walker
• 
  Titan (Patron)

UI/Graphic Design

• 
  Training - Guided
• 
  Training - Hero Testing
• 
  Training - Guide
• 
  Training - Bots on Easy
• 
  Lane Training trooper Coin
• 
  Posters

Trivia

• Neon Prime's portraits were drawn by former Valve artist Claire Hummel.
• Concept artist Vasili Zorin (known for his work on Overwatch and Sunset Overdrive) is believed to be the art director of Neon Prime, as much of the character design and production design looks like his signature art style. Vasili has been working at Valve since 2018, when development on Citadel began.