Deadlock is currently in a testing phase on Steam. In 2025, Valve significantly changed the MOBA shooter and introduced many new updates. However, the biggest problem still persists.
What is Deadlock actually? Deadlock is the latest game from Valve itself. It is a mix of MOBAs like LoL or Dota 2 and hero shooters like Overwatch or Marvel Rivals.
Two teams of six players each are formed from a total of 32 characters, who must complete the so-called ritual in the streets of New York. This ritual is hosted by the Patrons (the main buildings of the teams), and the characters must engage in a fight to the death to win it.
Each of the characters from Deadlock who wins the ritual has a wish fulfilled and the reason for their participation. The world of Deadlock is an alternate universe where an event known as “The Maelstrom” has opened the world to spirits, demons, and supernatural beings.
Deadlock has changed and improved dramatically in 2025
How has the game changed in 2025? After just a few days into the new year, Valve developer Yoshi, who informs the community about every update, announced that the bi-weekly updates will no longer come at a fixed time. Instead, Valve wants to provide players with larger content updates, but irregularly.
The first major update came just a few days later, marking a great year for Deadlock. In our directory, you can jump to the major updates, the issue with Deadlock, or what the future looks like if you’re only interested in a specific part.
Four new heroes in January
The first major update of Deadlock in 2025 introduced four new heroes, bringing a lot of excitement to the roster. The so-called hero lab, a special mode to test unfinished characters, had already revealed the four newcomers.
Calico, Holliday, Vyper, and Sinclair were the first to make it out of the testing environment and caused one of the fastest nerfs in the history of Deadlock.
Some of these characters received entirely new abilities or even a different playstyle. To this day, several heroes remain in the hero lab, which Valve is more or less testing and wants to integrate into the official matchmaking.
The major map rework in February
On February 25, 2025, a major surprise occurred within the community. After some initial leaks of a new map, Valve gave players a belated Christmas gift and changed the number of lanes from four to three.
The largest update to the map removed an entire lane and sped up the gameplay somewhat. Subsequently, the rest of the map was also revised. New paths were created to better navigate the map with the various movement techniques of Deadlock, and the boss of the map received a completely new nest.
The complete overhaul of the item shop in May
After the new heroes in January brought a lot of variety and the map update laid the expected foundation for Valve’s final vision of the map, the major shop update came in May.
Every item received a new icon in a style fitting for Deadlock. Additionally, many new items were added. The item update also adjusted the total number of items that can be purchased, and changed the rules regarding which category (weapon, magic, vitality) can be invested in.
Before the item update, you could buy four items from each category. Later in the course of the round, the flex slots were unlocked, allowing builds to expand with four more items from any category. These category restrictions were removed with the update.
Since the item update, you can completely decide which category you invest in and receive an investment bonus for the corresponding value after certain expenditures. Combined with the many new items, entirely new builds and possibilities emerged for playing the various characters.
Six new characters and a cute cat in August
In mid-August, Valve provided the largest content update yet. A total of six new characters were introduced, models of existing heroes adjusted to the new style of Deadlock, a new lighting setting, as well as adjustments to the map and finally a new main menu.
After the last new heroes came to New York in one go, Valve came up with a new system. The first newcomer was immediately unlocked, and players had to choose the following five to determine which one would be playable next.
Over two weeks, the new heroes were finally released, leading to a huge community engagement, creating various memes for their favorites and playing many rounds in a row. A vote was only given to those who also played a match.
In addition to the new heroes, many old characters have been adapted to the new graphic style of Deadlock. The MOBA shooter looked rather realistic in the spring but now opts for a comic-like style.
The map has also been revised, and the rival teams have begun to show signs of different themes:
- The side of the Amber Hand looks very industrial after the update, with lanes leading to construction sites.
- The side of the Sapphire Flame, on the other hand, looks cleaner and more civilized. Additionally, they have some green spaces and hints of a park.
Lastly, the main menu was changed or rather simply replaced. Instead of a simple screen with “Search” or “Watch,” there is now a whole hideout where you can walk around and have various stations to use Deadlock’s functions. In this hideout, a cat was also found that reacts to various hero abilities.
The “small” balance update in November
In November, the last update for Deadlock (as of December 5, 2025) was released. Developer Yoshi states that it is a minor balance patch, however, players agree that this update has massively changed the game.
In addition to new mechanics that redesign the laning phase of Deadlock and create early 2vs2 scenarios, there are further changes. The buildings on the lanes have been made not only stronger but also have gained significantly more health. The last major change is a modification to the investment bonus from the item update, which provides a strong bonus based on a certain soul value (4,800) in the respective categories, promoting hybrid builds.
The major problem of Deadlock still persists
What is the major problem despite the significant changes? Deadlock was first given a page on Steam in August 2024. Shortly after, about 170,000 users played simultaneously. Since the game is in a testing phase, you can only test it if you are invited by a friend on Steam. We explained how this works here.
This brings us to the major problem of Deadlock. It is still not openly accessible and requires an invitation from a friend on Steam to play. Besides the more or less regular announcements from developer Yoshi, there is also rather little communication from Valve’s side. Currently, about 23,000 users are playing the game on Steam (steamdb.info).
The community also suffers from the low influx of new players, as several players in the Deadlock subreddit complain about matchmaking issues. A comment in a Reddit post suspects a lack of new players behind this, leading to a significant skill gap in the lobbies.
The next major patch could come in December
What does the future hold for Deadlock? Valve developer Yoshi informed the community that the next major content patch should be released in December. However, on December 2, 2025, he announced a possible delay of the update in the official Discord channel. He stated that Valve still has a lot of work ahead.
Leakers are also eager for new content for Deadlock, and many details about the next major update have already been released. A post in the subreddit from December 2 shows a small overview of the content expected for the patch. Please note that this information is merely speculation, and the final content of the update may change.
What the community will receive after the patch in December or January is still unknown. In the past, Valve has experimented a lot and is testing various new elements to develop Deadlock according to their vision.
The Twitch streamer AverageJonas can’t get enough of Deadlock and has been streaming Valve’s new MOBA shooter for a while now. After becoming famous through his Valorant streams in 2020, he lost a large part of his audience but is happier than ever: He made millions with a shooter on Twitch, now he streams in front of a few hundred viewers and is happier than ever
