Multiplayer games making headlines is hardly a rarity in 2026, as the ill-advised wave of COVID-era investment in live-service games continues breaking on the shore. Valve’s Deadlock is different. It’s a mashup of styles, with elements of things like Dota 2 and Valorant, a little Risk of Rain, a splash of Hades, and plenty of its own unique spirit too. It’s impressive, especially for a game whose makers didn’t even intend for it to be widely playable yet.
People are playing the hell out of Deadlock, though. Following its big January 2026 update, Deadlock‘s concurrent player count surpassed Overwatch‘s on Steam, and for good reason. Even with months or years left in development, Deadlock is the best it’s ever been. If you’re not playing it, well, you should be.
What is Deadlock?
Deadlock is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter from Valve, the makers of Steam and its associated bits of hardware, Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and so on. Risk of Rain 2 creator Duncan Drummond is part of the design team, and Dota 2 director “IceFrog” is also involved.
Teams of four or six battle for control over an objective on the streets of New York, where paranormal forces run rampant. The objective, and the team size, vary depending on which mode you’re playing, but Deadlock is still a MOBA either way. That’s “multiplayer online battle arena” in normal-speak, and it means a few things:
- Heroes have built-in abilities with lengthy cooldown timers, and you can upgrade abilities as a match progresses
- Defeating “mobs” of standard foes helps you earn currency to spend on boosting your abilities
- Heroes fall into defense, support, and damage categories, and you’re expected to play to their strengths, e.g. distracting enemies and taking hits if you’re a tank
- Maps are divided into lanes you’re meant to stay in to press your attack or defend your team
Why is Valve making another MOBA when Dota 2 still exists?
Dota 2 is more of your traditional MOBA — top-down perspective, clear lanes to play in, skill-based progression. Deadlock has some of those things, but it’s far less of a MOBA than League of Legends and Dota. We’ll explain more about that in a bit.
When is Deadlock releasing?
No one knows! Maybe not even Valve. The Steam maker has a history of doing things its own way and in its own time, and it launches games and platforms when they’re ready to launch. Whenever that is.
Deadlock wasn’t even meant to be playable at this point, but after its existence leaked in 2024, Valve went ahead and launched it in something close to an alpha state — playable, but with missing components and unfinished assets. (The main map only recently had large chunks of previously gray blobs colored in and given more permanence.) It’s still fully functional, though, even if it changes a lot between now and its eventual launch. And it probably will. Valve already changed the main mode’s map so it has three lanes instead of four.
But also, it’s effectively out. You just need to ask someone to let you in.
How can I get an invite to play Deadlock?
Deadlock is technically in closed beta, but it’s much less exclusive than most closed betas. If you know anyone who’s playing, they can send you an invitation to play from the game, similar to when you invite a friend to play a game you’re currently running on Steam. And that’s it! Like most of Valve’s other games, Deadlock is playable on Steam only, at least for the time being.
It’s worth the hassle, too. As Valve continues plugging away at Deadlock, the game is showing a lot more promise than it did even a year ago. Here’s why.
Reason 1: Deadlock is unashamedly itself
“New game is X meets YZ.” It’s a common pitch in the modern games landscape, where, the belief goes, new things have to be like something else if they want to get attention. And it’s often a self-destructive move, like Concord being instantly labeled another Overwatch clone or Highguard getting categorized as an Apex Legends successor. You’re telling potential consumers the new thing isn’t new; it’s just like two other things they already have. (Granted, Valve owning one of the most lucrative digital storefronts means its game studios likely have more freedom to take chances that other startups don’t have.)
Anyway, Deadlock is Deadlock. It has elements of other games, but it’s not trying to be anything other than itself. Yeah, it’s a MOBA, sort of, but it’s also got parkour peppered throughout and bits of pieces of hero shooters like Overwatch and Valorant. As in, you can run up walls and avoid detection while you heal or before casting your ultimate so your opponent isn’t prepared. (Bonus points if it’s an ultimate whose power changes based on how high up you are.)
There’s also an inspired roguelite power-up element that’s more like Hades than anything else, where your playstyle changes dramatically depending on which power-ups you roll or happen to stumble across. Maybe you’re specializing as Abrams, a defensive tank character. One round might see you wind up with massive health boosts and lifesteal passives so you never die. Another might load you up with passives that inflict stun when you collide with a foe.
Collisions and melee combat set Deadlock apart as well. Weapons and skills matter, but every character has a normal and strong melee attack, the option to parry, and a suite of mobility skills. There’s always some way to engage, and it’s up to you to figure out the best method.
Reason 2: The skill ceiling is high and oh-so rewarding
Deadlock‘s learning curve is steep, but instead of worrying that it might turn people away, Valve is charging forward and adding even more depth and complexity. Take the stamina meter as an example. Movement skills like dashing, double jumping, and sliding cost stamina, and you need to use them wisely. But you also have infinite ammo while sliding, so while you might be tempted to dash to safety when under threat, a well-timed slide and good aim might make the difference between just surviving and turning the match around.
People correctly call Deadlock a skill dance. You might have all the right power-ups. You might be playing the coolest, most stylish, most well-built character around. But in a moment’s notice, if you make the wrong choice and press too hard or leave your team behind, that might be all it takes to lose the match. Deadlock is unforgiving, which sucks if you’re on the losing end, but feels absolutely fantastic when you manage a dramatic upset yourself.
The makers of most multiplayer shooters like to assume you drop onto this planet knowing exactly how to play their game. Respawn teaches you to run and shoot in Apex Legends before throwing you to the wolves (the wolves being far more skilled players that immediately carve up your sad, confused self like a Christmas turkey). Blizzard doesn’t teach you anything in Overwatch. Valve is still pretty hands-off in Deadlock, but a recent update added a 4v4 mode called Street Brawl, which Deadlock now tells you to go try after finishing the (admittedly skimpy) basic training. Street Brawl is a brilliant little mode that teaches you the basics of movement and timing, powers and progression without the pressure of defending lanes or spending 20 minutes on a single match. These are fast, hectic little sortees to get you used to Deadlock‘s rhythm, though once you know what you’re doing, Brawl matches are also just fun to play in general.
Deadlock has a lot more room for better onboarding and helping players understand some of its unique elements, like obtaining souls for upgrades by shooting a defeated enemy’s spirit instead of collecting them automatically. But it’s a strong start and a much smoother way to learn the game that pretty much any other multiplayer shooter offers at the moment. And since it’s a de facto tutorial mode, most players are understanding and supportive. You don’t have to play well. Just trying is enough.
Reason 4: It’s got Style
Deadlock might be unfinished, but it’s already got capital-s Style. Not just in how it plays or the slick moves heroes can pull off. Just look at the character roster portraits. Your gothic penthouse base. The dank, dark streets of a haunted New York (what a concept for a setting) and its art deco-slash-steampunk chic. And the fashion. Deadlock‘s ragtag band of supernatural warriors knows how to dress down to the last little devil among them, and they don’t skimp on accessories either. Like the gentleman priest Venator and his ragged little cigarette, a permanent part of his ensemble so you know he’s down for exorcisms and general badassery. Or Grace’s moon pendant hanging off a massive belt buckle, and the gigantic Abrams with his fashionable glasses and a book always close at hand so you know he’s a quiet nerdy (affectionate) type. Presumably. Deadlock‘s characters might look like they have stories to tell and plenty of attitude with which to tell them, but Deadlock itself is a bit short on story at the moment. Not that that’s stopped fans from filling the gaps with their own art and stories while they wait.
