Deadlock overview: What is Valve’s new game and does it have esports potential?

The gaming internet is ablaze with discussions about Deadlock, the upcoming new MOBA-shooter hybrid from Valve that everyone is talking about. So it’s a no-brainer to get in early on the action and to figure out the ins and outs of Deadlock – and we’ve got the inside scoop for you with this detailed fact sheet and analysis.

What is Deadlock? Everything you need to know about Valve’s new game

Deadlock is an upcoming six-versus-six third-person hero shooter with a healthy dose of MOBA elements sprinkled into its gameplay. A private playtest for its predecessor began in 2023, and the game still remains invite-only as of October 2024. At this point, friends of playtest participants can receive invitations freely. The game is already a phenomenon, with over 100,000 concurrent players reached at the end of the summer of 2024. Previously, it was known as Neon Prime in trademark filings and early development leaks. Valve made a formal announcement on August 23, 2024, ten days after The Verge’s Sean Hollister posted a controversial article about the soft-NDA’d game.

Deadlock’s gameplay format owes a lot to Dota 2 and other MOBAs: it features four lanes with three distinct guardians and continuously spawning creepers for both sides, with the six heroes ganking and battling their way to victory on the streets of the Cursed Apple, an occult yet steampunk take of New York City.

Who are the developers of Deadlock?

Valve, the company behind Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and, of course, Steam, is developing Deadlock. It will be their 34th published game. The actual development team is somewhat shrouded in mystery, especially because of Valve’s internal policies that allow workers to flow fluidly between projects as they see fit. (Whether that’s part of why we’re still waiting for a Half-Life sequel is up for you to judge.)

However, some members are quite active on the game’s dedicated Discord server, even if their real identities remain unclear. “Yoshi” is the most vocal developer on the community forum, with posts and responses that provide further insights into their ideas and the development process for Deadlock as a whole.

Is Deadlock already released?

No, Deadlock is still early in development. As the Steam page description says, “Deadlock is in early development with lots of temporary art and experimental gameplay. Access is currently limited to friend invite via our playtesters.” Even so, while many of the assets are clearly placeholders and the heroes are still getting balanced (with new ones like Mirage getting added to the game even at this early stage), Valve’s trademark polish and attention to detail clearly shine through and the gameplay experience is so solid that you would be forgiven for thinking that the product is already quite close to release.

While the developers like to keep their cards close to their chests when it comes to Deadlock’s development, all signs suggest that they are going to take their sweet time heading into beta and toward a 1.0 release. There is absolutely no date or deadline being floated for these milestones, and knowing how Valve has operated historically with their other big games, a full-fledged launch is likely still a long time away.

How can I get invited to the Deadlock playtest?

Anyone who is already a part of the Deadlock playtest can invite their Steam friends to the game, meaning you only need one person from all your gaming buddies to lend you a hand, with no other requirements or purchases required. If you do not know anyone who is already able to play Deadlock, then don’t worry because you are still not out of luck: there are many communities and Discord servers out there where you can ask fellow players for an invite, which is an easy way to secure access to the Deadlock playtest.

Which are the best heroes in Deadlock?

Much like with other MOBAs and hero shooters, the list of the best heroes in Deadlock is continuously in flux, and this is especially true at this early juncture in development, when characters and abilities, not to mention even the most basic of gameplay mechanics, are subject to constant change. For this reason, any specific hero suggestion would become outdated at an instant, so what we would recommend to you instead is to take your time and experiment with Deadlock’s large roster of characters to find which ones suit you the best.

Nevertheless, if you are looking for numbers rather than hunches, third-party statistical tracker sites like deadlocktracker.gg can give you some insight into the win rates of various heroes, but you need to be mindful of the limitations of these platforms at this early juncture in the game’s development, as they can easily

How can I check my MMR in Deadlock?

At the time of writing, there is no official MMR (matchmaking ranking) statistic for players in Deadlock, and the developers have gone on record saying that they are looking to completely rewrite the existing internal systems. That hasn’t stopped third-party sites like the aforementioned deadlocktracker.gg to try and establish a metric that would help players track their progression and to see how they stack up against the competition, but it only takes a flick of a wand and a quick game update for Valve to remove these non-affiliated stat-tracking options, as we saw just a few months ago.

So this means that if you are able to find a non-Valve-affiliated platform that can track some sort of matchmaking ranking statistic for you, there is no guarantee that a) it has any relevance with Valve’s internal systems b) that it will remain accurate as the development process continues or c) that it even will remain available for a long period of time. This means that the best you can do for now is to play the game for fun, gathering knowledge and skills that will help you climb the ladder properly once one is actually added to the game or when Deadlock esports tournaments really begin to emerge.

Speaking of which…

Deadlock esports: will there be a competitive scene to the game?

All signs point to yes! The gameplay foundations of Deadlock lend themselves very well to elite-level competitive play, and Valve’s history with esports and gaming competition also suggests that they will actively facilitate Deadlock esports action for fans and players all around the world. The massive early interest in the game and the streaming numbers would indicate that the audience is already there, so it is clearly only just a matter of time until serious competitive Deadlock events begin to emerge.

In fact, there are already some grassroots-level esports events organized by enterprising community members on Discord servers and elsewhere, with a few of them even getting rudimentary Liquipedia pages in an important sign of gaming prestige and acceptance. Competitions like the BB Deadlock Cup and the regional Downtown Showdown events are already attracting great interest from players and tournament organizers alike.

In the past history of competitive games, a great marker of an emerging esports title was always this very grassroots interest and the foundational fun gameplay and skill expression, an exhilarating cocktail of competition that can only come together from great game design and the passionate interest of regular players. So it’s most likely only just a matter of time until a robust Deadlock esports scene will emerge, breeding new gaming stars and fantastic memorable moments along the way in the cauldron of high-stakes competition.

And where Deadlock esports goes, Deadlock betting on reputable platforms like Bitsler is sure to follow soon enough.

Betting on Deadlock esports – Bitsler is the place to be

While competitive Deadlock events right now are still far from the scale and prestige and organization required to offer odds on, we’re closely monitoring all the developments when it comes to Deadlock gaming at the highest level, and as soon as properly sanctioned competitive events emerge, we will be right there to enhance the fun with the best odds and the greatest crypto betting options available in the industry, bringing our vintage Bitsler flavor to the Deadlock betting action.

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Who are some of the best Deadlock esports players today?

It is still too early to tell who will become the Deadlock esports stars of tomorrow, but many notable competitive players from other games have become really interested in Valve’s new MOBA-FPS hybrid, and their positivity and content creation have no doubt supercharged the wider gaming community’s fascination with this upcoming game.

Without a doubt, the biggest name in the esports scene who is already greatly involved with Deadlock is shroud. The legendary American streamer has left an indelible mark on many competitive shooters across the years, and his interest in, nay, addiction to Deadlock is well-documented. Unsurprisingly, he is the most-watched Deadlock streamer in the community with over 1.5 million hours watched and almost 90 hours streamed in just two weeks at the end of the summer, dwarfing the competition in all metrics.

Recrent and singsing are also notable as Deadlock players and content creators, with popular variety streamers xqc and summit1g also getting involved with the action. As for the dedicated competitive side of things, the CIS region is getting a head start on the proceedings, as they tend to do with MOBAs, but the teams like Team Cake and The Cabal, who have won the earliest Deadlock esports events, are not likely to remain intact as larger-scale competitions emerge. Rumors suggest that orgs like Team Spirit and Tundra Esports are already looking to hop on the Deadlock esports train, which would be a big development for the competitive scene, especially at this early juncture.

Where can I follow Deadlock news if I want to learn more about the game?

There are many good methods to stay up to date with Deadlock news. If you have access to the playtest, the official patch notes are the best way to go about figuring out the latest happenings – this is still an early-development version we’re playing, after all. There are also dedicated Deadlock content creators like DeadAir and Hammeh who can help you learn more about the game, its lore, and its latest developments.

You can also keep an eye out for traditional games media and the Bitsler blog for all things Deadlock and competitive gaming, especially if you are interested in exploring the esports betting side of things.

All information on the Deadlock game, summarized

Deadlock is an upcoming competitive game developed by Valve. Formerly, it was known as Neon Prime early in development. It heavily incorporates a combination of hero shooter elements and MOBA gameplay trappings. It’s still early in development, and basically all of its elements are still very much subject to change. At the time of writing, Deadlock is in an invite-only playtest stage, but all participants are free to invite any of their Steam friends to this closed alpha.

Deadlock is already displaying great signs of competitive potential, with esports events already emerging by the grassroots community. Esports betting experts suggest that the game is bound to have great crypto betting potential. Streamers like shroud and xqc have already got in on the Deadlock esports action – will you be the next player to follow in their footsteps?