Valve, the renowned developer behind popular titles like Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, and the Steam platform, has officially confirmed the upcoming game Deadlock.
The announcement for Deadlock was made on the evening of Friday, Aug. 23, with a dedicated Steam page and an official statement from Valve.
Details about the game are currently limited, with only a single animatic serving as the trailer and a screenshot available. The release date is still to be announced, and a notice on the page indicates:
“Deadlock is in early development with temporary art and experimental gameplay. Access is currently restricted to friend invites via our playtesters.”
Deadlock had been a poorly kept secret in the gaming community, with leaks surfacing months ago from early testers sharing screenshots. The leaks and rumors escalated until recently when The Verge disregarded Valve’s request not to disclose in-game details.
Image Credit: Valve
The breach of what was referred to as a ‘pseudo-NDA’ sparked controversy. Partly, it was Deadlock’s unique distribution method that led to this situation—instead of an official release, the game relies on “friend invites via playtesters,” as stated on its store page.
This essentially means Valve has limited control over who is participating in their testing, although they could potentially ban players if necessary.
Following the game’s announcement, numerous players with access, including members of other Valve game communities, began streaming gameplay, creating videos, and launching YouTube channels. Some of these channels were previously private.
The Steam store page for Deadlock offers minimal details about the game, describing it as a “multiplayer game in early development.” User-assigned tags include MOBA, Third-Person Shooter, and Team-Based, as Valve has not provided these definitions themselves.
User reviews appear to be disabled at the moment, but Steam curators are able to leave comments and reviews about the game.
Deadlock currently does not have a confirmed release date or open beta schedule. Stay tuned for our coverage on Deadlock, from early leaks to the latest updates.
