Valve has released City Never Sleeps, a major update for Deadlock. It adds six new heroes and heavily reworks the game’s map.
This isn’t a launch. Deadlock is still in development, and nothing in the update sets a release date.
The map is the biggest change. Deadlock takes place in a supernatural version of New York that players call the Cursed Apple. Large parts of it have been rebuilt.
Buildings are more detailed. Many areas now have more entrances and exits, plus more vertical, multilevel spaces. Some familiar spots are hard to recognize.
This affects gameplay, not only the view. In Deadlock, heroes move around with dashes, wall jumps, and ziplines. A new doorway or rooftop can open a faster path between lanes or a new way to reach an objective.
The lanes have been reworked as well. Valve’s patch notes list the exact changes. This is separate from the earlier update that cut the map from four lanes to three.
Neutral camps also got attention. Camps now look more varied, and their creatures fit the part of the city where they appear. Players say the changes affect how the camps play, not only how they look.
Then there are the heroes. Rat King, Deadman Danny, and Baba are among the six new characters. Two others have chess and pigeon themes. The patch notes explain when each hero becomes playable.
Not every older hero got a new look. Yamato still uses her old model. Players quoting Valve’s developer note say hero remodels are planned “towards the end of the early development.” They aren’t the focus of this update.
The patch also brings clarity and quality-of-life fixes, along with item changes. The full notes are long.
Still invite only
The update doesn’t change how players get into Deadlock. Access still works through invites from friends who already have the game on Steam.
The shorter 4v4 Street Brawl mode is still available, but it was added before this update. Fan talk about a future PvE mode is just speculation. Valve hasn’t announced one.
