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Neon Prime

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Screenshot of Neon Prime. Bebop overlooks the city of Fracture.
Neon Prime screenshot

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

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 (items) menu
Neon Prime Early HUD
Neon Prime Early HUD

Setting[edit | edit source]

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.

Gameplay[edit | edit source]

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.

Neon Prime tutorials and gameplay footage (unofficial logo)

Heroes[edit | edit source]

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[1][2]
Atlas Became Abrams Wore a jetpack
Ballista Removed Used to be in a relationship with Lash[3][4]
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[1][2]
Gigawatt Became Seven
Haze Stayed Original design was an alien with long ears. Was a Disciple of Kreela
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.[5] 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,[6] used to be in a relationship with Ballista[3][4]
Murphy Became Warden The name was reused for Captain Murphy in Holliday's storyline. Was a Constable (robot police)
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 and a member of the Eighth Sun
Sumo Became Dynamo Also known as Jeong. Was an Asian chef and black market smuggler[6]
Synth Became Pocket
Tengu Became Ivy Was a person wearing a red yokai mask
Viscous Stayed Same as current model, 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[edit | edit source]

Gameplay[edit | edit source]

Heroes[edit | edit source]

NPCs[edit | edit source]

UI and Graphic Design[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • Neon Prime's portraits were drawn by former Valve artist Claire Hummel.[7]
  • 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,[8] when development on Citadel began.

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Lash's in-game voice line - "Astro is a lucky lady to be with someone like Forge."
  2. 2.0 2.1 Lash's in-game voice line - "I see her at the Bear Pit every Thursday with Astro, that lady is a student of the game."
  3. 3.0 3.1 Lash's in-game voice line - "It's fine. You know, lots of guys get the shit kicked out of them by their exes, right?"
  4. 4.0 4.1 Lash's in-game voice line - "Get it together, Lash! You're not gonna win them back by losing!"
  5. Lash's in-game voice line - "Not gonna dunk on you, Kali. You were a hell of a fighter before you retired. Lived in obscurity, came out of retirement in a desperate bid for relevancy, only to get injured by Bebop. Ouch! And put on a shelf for the better part of two decades. Uhf."
  6. 6.0 6.1 Neon Prime lore
  7. Confirmed privately with Claire Hummel on X
  8. Vasili Zorin on Linkedin