Deadlock by Valve: All known information about the release, invitations, and gameplay

Deadlock is the new multiplayer game from Valve. You can find all the information about the release, invitations, and gameplay in this overview.

After there have been increasing rumors and leaks about a new multiplayer game from Valve in recent weeks and months, Deadlock (PC) was officially announced in August 2024.

However, since Valve has not shared much information about the game yet, we will summarize what we know so far or what we do not know.

Deadlock Release: Is there any information yet?

What we know about the release of Deadlock: Currently, no release date for Deadlock is known (as of September 3, 2024). However, we know that the game will be released on Steam.

However, the game is currently playable in an alpha test if you have been invited by Valve or a Steam friend to play.

Will Deadlock also be available for PS5 and Xbox Series? So far, nothing is known about a release of Deadlock on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S. The game is not playable with a controller in the alpha test and supports only mouse and keyboard controls.

Valve often releases new games only for PC on Steam, its in-house platform. Even Counter-Strike 2 and DOTA 2 are only playable on Steam on PC and not on console.

Deadlock Invite: How to get an invitation

How can you play Deadlock? Deadlock is currently only playable in an alpha test. To participate in this test, you must be invited.

How do you get an invitation? You must be invited either by Valve or by a friend who already has access to Deadlock.

If you want to invite a friend or be invited by a friend, there is an option for that in the game. To invite, follow these steps:

• Start Deadlock via Steam
• In the main menu of Deadlock, click on “Invite Friends” in the bottom right corner
• Select the friends you want to invite to the Deadlock alpha test

However, you can only invite people you are friends with on Steam.

Here you can see the button for inviting friends in Deadlock. We have marked the button you need to press in red:

Gameplay: What kind of game is this?

What do we know about the gameplay? Deadlock is a multiplayer game that is described by early players as a “MOBA shooter” and is played in third-person perspective.

Gameplay-wise, Deadlock mixes individual components of a MOBA with the gameplay of a shooter. Like in a MOBA, there are so-called lanes (there are 4 in Deadlock). On these lanes, players fight against enemy infantry, guardians, runners, and other players. They also level up their abilities there and try to get closer to and besiege the enemy base.

At the beginning of a match, each player chooses one of a total of 21 different heroes, all of whom have different abilities and weapons. The primary weapons are firearms, which is why Deadlock also offers some shooter gameplay.

Although there is no gameplay trailer yet, you can get an impression of the game in our video:

In the game itself, you can choose from four different modes. There is the normal mode where you play 6v6 with and against other players, a demo mode to test heroes and abilities, a public match where you play with other players against bots, and a private bot match where only you and your friends compete against bots.

These characters are in Deadlock – All heroes

Which heroes are available? In Deadlock, there are currently a total of 21 different heroes in the alpha test:

The heroes marked with an asterisk (*) are particularly suitable for beginners, according to Valve.

MeinMMO editor Dariusz Müller is a passionate shooter player. He has looked at Deadlock and addressed the question of whether Valve’s new multiplayer game actually plays like a shooter or whether it is more of a MOBA: Is Deadlock, the new hit on Steam, even a shooter? That’s what our expert says