What is Deadlock?

Deadlock is Valve's newer game, a 6v6 hero shooter mashed together with a MOBA. Picture the lanes, creeps, towers, and last-hitting of Dota 2, but played from a third-person over-the-shoulder view where you actually aim your guns and abilities like an action shooter. Two teams of six fight across a map to push through the enemy's defenses and destroy their base. It is Valve's first genuinely new competitive game in years, and it has pulled a lot of attention because of it.

One thing to be clear about up front: Deadlock has been running as a playtest, not a finished commercial release, for its whole public life so far. Its availability has shifted over time, so the right move is to check the Steam store for the current status rather than assume it is fully launched. More on that below.

The genre: shooter meets MOBA

Deadlock borrows the skeleton of a MOBA and bolts on shooter mechanics. If you have played Dota 2, a lot will feel familiar even though it looks nothing alike. For the wider picture of what Valve makes, see the Valve games list.

• Lanes and creeps. The map is divided into lanes with waves of AI minions marching down them. You farm those creeps for souls, Deadlock's version of gold and experience.
• Souls and items. Souls buy items that upgrade your hero's weapon, vitality, and abilities. Building your hero over the course of a match is core to the game, exactly like item progression in a MOBA.
• Aim-based combat. Unlike a top-down MOBA, you shoot and aim in real time. Gunplay and ability aim both matter, so mechanical shooter skill counts alongside macro strategy.
• Verticality and movement. The map has a zipline rail system and heavy verticality, so fights happen across rooftops and multiple levels, not just on flat ground.

The result is a game that asks you to think like a MOBA player and shoot like an FPS player at the same time. That combination is the whole pitch, and it is why the game is hard to describe in one word.

The map and lanes

Deadlock's map has featured a lane structure with guarded towers, called guardians, that you knock down to advance. Behind them sit stronger objectives and, eventually, the enemy's central base structure, the Patron, which is the thing you have to destroy to win. Between the lanes is a shared area full of neutral creeps and objectives to fight over, similar to a MOBA jungle. Valve has actively reworked the map layout during the playtest, including changing the number of lanes, so the exact geography is a moving target. Treat any lane-count claim as a snapshot of one patch.

The heroes

Deadlock launched its playtest with a roster of distinct heroes, each with a unique weapon and a set of abilities, and Valve has kept adding new ones and reworking existing ones through regular updates. Reporting has covered major patches that dropped several new heroes at once. The characters cover the usual spread you would expect: aggressive gun-focused damage dealers, ability-heavy casters, tanky front-liners, and support-leaning picks. Because the roster and their kits change often during a playtest, the current lineup is best confirmed in-game or on the community wiki rather than pinned down here.

Deadlock release date and how to get access

Here is the honest status, and it matters because a lot of sites overstate it.

Deadlock began as an invite-only playtest. Access spread the way Valve tends to do it, through an in-client friend-invite system where existing testers could add people to the test. Over time Valve loosened that gate and let more players in, and coverage from outlets like Turtle Beach and others has tracked those changes step by step. What Valve has not done, as of this writing, is declare a traditional full 1.0 release with a fixed date. Various outlets have speculated about a release window, but speculation is all it is until Valve says otherwise.

So the practical guidance is simple:

1. Open Steam and search for Deadlock in the store.
2. Look at whether the store page lets you request access, join a playtest, or install directly. That is the real, current answer for your account.
3. If a friend is already in the test, ask them whether the in-client invite system is active, since that has been the main way people got in.
4. Do not trust third-party sites promising guaranteed keys or paid access. Valve does not sell playtest access, and anything charging you for it is not legitimate.

Because the game is still in active development, expect it to change under you. Heroes get reworked, the map shifts, and systems come and go between patches. That is the nature of a playtest. To see how its live population compares with Valve's established titles, check our Steam stats page.

FAQ

Is Deadlock free? During its playtest, Deadlock has been free for players who had access, with no purchase to enter the test. Valve has not announced a final commercial model, so check the Steam store page for the current terms.

Is Deadlock fully released? Not in the traditional sense as of this writing. It has run as a playtest that started invite-only and gradually opened up. Valve has not confirmed a dated 1.0 launch, so treat release-date claims as speculation.

What kind of game is Deadlock? A 6v6 hybrid that combines MOBA structure (lanes, creeps, towers, item builds) with third-person hero-shooter combat where you aim your weapons and abilities in real time.

How do I get into Deadlock? Check the Steam store page for the current access method, and if you know someone already in the test, ask about the in-client friend-invite system. Avoid any site selling keys, since Valve does not charge for playtest access.

How many heroes does Deadlock have? It launched the playtest with a full roster and Valve keeps adding and reworking heroes through updates. Because the count changes often, confirm the current number in-game or on the community wiki.