| Deadlock | |
| Developer: | Valve |
| Publisher: | Valve |
| Engine: | Source 2 |
| Platforms: | Windows |
| Released: | TBA |
| Genre: | Third-person shooter, MOBA |
| Modes: | Multiplayer |
Deadlock is an upcoming team-based multiplayer third-person shooter game developed and published by Valve.
Since May 2024, Deadlock has been in early development playtesting. Players are encouraged to invite friends to test it on the online game service Steam, but were initially told not to share details about the game publicly. In September 2024, Deadlock reached a concurrent player count of over 170,000.[1]
Shortly after playtesting began, footage of Deadlock began to leak online. On August 12, 2024, a journalist was banned after writing a preview for the technology site The Verge. Later that month, Valve lifted rules on public conversation for playtesters[2] and published a Deadlock Steam store page.
Deadlock is a 6v6 team-based third-person shooter combining elements of hero shooters, like Overwatch, and MOBAs, like Dota.[3] In each match, the 12 players control unique "heroes" who begin split across four "lanes" in a large map. To win, one team has to push their "troopers" (NPCs who fight with the players) down the lanes into the opposing team's stronghold and destroy their "patron" (a large supernatural entity helping the heroes and troopers).
Players can gain "souls" and "ability points" by killing troopers, neutral NPCs called "denizens" and other players. These can then be used to upgrade their heroes' abilities and buy items in "curiosity shops" to make them stronger. The map can be navigated using ziplines on each lane as well as teleporters. The game currently has 29 heroes, each with unique weapons, stats, and abilities. Deadlock takes place in an alternative version of New York City, with references to the occult.[4]
In October 2022, Valve filed a trademark for the name Neon Prime.[5] Neon Prime was reportedly helmed by IceFrog (the lead designer of Dota), and would have been a MOBA with a sci-fi aesthetic.[6] Further details were reported in 2023, indicating that it would have been a team-based "third-person 'MOBA-lite'", in which players need to defeat a boss enemy at the opposing team's base.[7] A private playtest for Neon Prime reportedly started in 2023.[8]
In May 2024, footage of Deadlock was leaked. It was presumed to be the project formerly known as Neon Prime for its similar gameplay elements.[9] [10] A closed playtest on Steam, which allowed participants to invite others, started by August 2024. Players also have access to a private Discord server to discuss the game and forums to read patch notes and provide feedback to the developers. The game's aesthetic, mixing elements of fantasy with an early 1900s aesthetic, has been compared to BioShock Infinite.
Valve formally announced Deadlock on August 23, 2024. Access to the game currently continues to be "friend invite only". A Steam page for the game was also released on the same date stating that the game is currently in "early development", with temporary art and "experimental gameplay."[11] [12] [13]
On August 12, Sean Hollister of The Verge published a full preview.[14] Hollister noted that since he had not signed nor verbally consented to any legally binding non-disclosure agreement, he was free to write about it, despite being shown a dialog box telling him not to share any information about the game with others. After the preview was published, Hollister was banned from the game's matchmaking.
The article's publication was controversial within the gaming community. Riley MacLeod of Aftermath 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.[15] Megan Farokhmanesh of Wired speculated that the secretive release strategy was a deliberate publicity stunt by Valve to tempt players to leak the game, building hype around it. Ted Litchfield of PC Gamer wrote that it was "hard not to be excited" for a new Valve game and would play it on day one.[16]