What is Deadlock?
Deadlock is a third-person competitive shooter, where players form teams of six to battle online in a fantasy steampunk setting. The game is Valve’s attempt to get a slice of the huge action games market and to compete with games like Overwatch and Fortnite.
First leaks about Deadlock came from a tweet Gabe Follower, who is a reputable Valve insider and shared details about the game—including its name and gameplay premise. Invited players have confirmed that the playable characters include magicians, robots, and magical creatures.
In a follow-up tweet, Gabe Follower compared Deadlock to Valve’s previous games Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2—as well as other MOBAs, shooters, and tower defense games. And after seeing some gameplay first-hand, we can confirm that very accurate assessment.
How can you play Deadlock?
Deadlock is invite-only. The primary way to gain access is through an invite from an active playtester via Steam. Once accepted, the game appears directly in the recipient’s Steam library.
According to the charts on SteamDB, Deadlock has reached a peak of over 171,490 concurrent players, trending upwards. As more people gain access to the private alpha, the number of players is expected to climb further.
According to the insider, Valve has no plans to kick or ban players who have gained access to Deadlock as they value players’ feedback and impressions of the game in its early state.
Those with early alpha access are urged not to share any game footage or screenshots. A message pops up when players launch the game, requesting them to refrain from sharing any details.
It appears that Valve is not keen on revealing any details about Deadlock to the public at the moment, urging their players to keep as tight-lipped as possible.
Players in the Reddit community mostly seem to respect Valve’s wishes. At the very least, the Reddit mods are doing a good job removing posts that show the game.
For this exact reason, you won’t find many video clips on the game’s Reddit community, Steam forums, or any other platform that wants to stay on Valve’s good side. This of course has not stopped some independent players from posting gameplay footage elsewhere.
What is Deadlock’s gameplay like?
A few YouTube videos showcase the game’s playable characters and their abilities. We have learned that characters include a robot named Bebop with a hook reel and sticky bombs, an archer named Grey Talon who can transform into an eagle, and a cyborg named Paradox who has time-manipulation abilities.
The playable roster has expanded significantly since early testing, with a total of 38 characters now available across multiple updates Old Gods.
Players have described the game as having a comparable gameplay style to Valve’s Dota 2. The map has distinct lanes which are guarded by turrets and towers, where groups of small computer-controlled enemies travel through.
The player can kill the enemies to prevent them from interfering, which will additionally award them with a currency called “souls” that can be used to upgrade the characters. Additionally, players will be able to deposit earned souls into a “spirit urn” during a match in order to benefit all the players on the team. According to players, visuals resemble Overwatch, with distinct looks and personalities to indicate their gameplay role.
Through its short lifespan, Deadlock has continued to change and evolve before its official launch, whenever that might be. Valve is adding new items and buffs throughout, and with frequent balance changes, and new character additions, the game is feeling fuller than ever.
Deadlock and Steam Machine, the perfect pair
Valve still hasn’t attached a public release date to Deadlock even with the frequent updates. But that hasn’t stopped countless community boards hypothesizing that the game could eventually launch alongside Valve’s new hardware, the Steam Machine.
The catch, as always, is timing. With rising RAM prices thanks to the AI arms race, coupled with production timelines getting messier, we’re not sure when we’ll see the Steam Machine. And if Deadlock is meant to ship as part of a larger Steam ecosystem play? Well then we just be waiting until after GTA VI.
