Deadlock public release: Dec 2027Not announced: our best guess from Valve's Sep 29, 2026 development note and press estimates.
Best guessValve gives no date: its Steam page says "To be announced" and access is limited to friend invites. Its Sep 29, 2026 City Never Sleeps post lists work still to do before full release (progression, hero and Hideout customization, the Mid-Boss, Guardians and Walkers, hero remodels), its big updates have come about eight months apart, and Beebom's Oct 1, 2026 estimate is "late 2027 or early 2028", so we count to the end of 2027. Valve on Steam

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Controls and Keybinds

Deadlock plays on WASD with Space to jump, Left Shift to dash, Left Ctrl to crouch or slide, 1 to 4 for abilities, Z, X and C for active items, Q to melee and F to parry. Controllers work through Steam Input with official Standard, Gyro and FlickStick schemes.

Deadlock's default controls put movement on WASD, jump and mantle on Space, dash on Left Shift, crouch and slide on Left Ctrl, the four abilities on 1 to 4, active items on Z, X and C, melee on Q and parry on F, as Dexerto's keybind guide lists them (updated Jul 15, 2026). Every key can be rebound, and the City Never Sleeps Update of Sep 29, 2026 added a Keybind Map, bind-by-key, scroll wheel binds, per-hero settings and shareable keybind codes (Valve's update page). Controllers work through Steam Input, with official Standard, Gyro and FlickStick schemes since Dec 6, 2024. Deadlock is an invite-only playtest in early development, so menus and defaults can still change.

Quick facts

Abilities 1, 2, 3, 4
Active items Z, X, C and a fourth item key
Melee and parry Q (melee), F (parry)
Movement keys Space jump and mantle, Left Shift dash, Left Ctrl crouch and slide
Ping Mouse 3
Console F7, once enabled in settings
Controller Steam Input: Standard, Gyro, FlickStick (Dec 6, 2024); Gyro suggested by default since Feb 25, 2025
Shareable keybind codes Since Sep 29, 2026

Sources: Dexerto, Jul 15, 2026; Valve's Dec 6, 2024 update; Valve's Map Rework Update, Feb 25, 2025; Valve's City Never Sleeps page, Sep 29, 2026.

Default keyboard and mouse controls

The table is Dexerto's layout, which it calls "relatively close to the default"; Dexerto moved only Item 4 (to E) and push to talk (to V), marked below.

Action Key
Move forward, back, left, right W, S, A, D
Jump and mantle Space
Dash Left Shift
Crouch and slide Left Ctrl
Fire Mouse 1
Zoom (aim) Mouse 2
Ability 1 to 4 1, 2, 3, 4
Item 1, 2, 3 Z, X, C
Item 4 E (Dexerto's choice)
Melee Q
Parry, throw a held item F
Cancel an ability Space
Ping Mouse 3
Scoreboard Tab
Push to talk V (Dexerto's choice)

Source: Dexerto (Jeremy Gan), updated Jul 15, 2026.

Some keys do double duty. Space both jumps and cancels a cast, and Left Shift's dash is the start of most of the movement tricks on Movement and Combat. In the shop, the keys 1 to 6 jump between the shop's tabs by default since City Never Sleeps (Valve, Sep 29, 2026). Valve added a Toggle Crouch bind on Dec 6, 2024, and since May 22, 2026 rebinding the zipline key also rebinds mounting and dismounting ropes, with no delay on alternative zipline keys.

Sensitivity and casting

Dexerto's mouse settings are a low sensitivity built for tracking. Its Jul 15, 2026 guide uses a mouse sensitivity of 0.33 at 400 DPI ("a good starting point"), Y-axis scaling 1 and a zoom sensitivity ratio of 1.33.

How abilities fire matters as much as where they sit. Dexerto sets abilities to Quick Cast, with Press and Hold as the alternate cast (hold time 0.15 seconds), turns "Cancel abilities with ability key" off, and sets items to Instant Cast. It changes casting per hero too: Bebop's Sticky Bomb and Rem's Tag Along on Instant Cast, and Apollo's third ability on right click. Since Sep 29, 2026 ability and item use is "instant the moment the button is pushed instead of waiting for the next 'window'", Valve wrote on its City Never Sleeps page, which makes every cast mode feel more responsive than in older videos.

Useful rebinds

The most common rebind moves abilities closer to WASD. Dexerto's beginner's guide (Aug 28, 2024) suggests players coming from Valorant or Overwatch put abilities on keys around movement, such as E, X, C, Q and F, instead of the number row, and its keybind guide moves Item 4 to E and push to talk to V. Because items you buy in the shop often have active effects (see Counter Items), a reachable fourth item key matters later in a match.

City Never Sleeps made rebinding easier. Its new settings, on Valve's update page (Sep 29, 2026):

  • Keybind Map: every key and mouse button you have bound, which are free, and what each does.
  • Bind By Key: click a free key, then assign it a command.
  • Additional Keybinds for actions that could not be bound before, and Hideout camera keybinds.
  • Scroll Wheel Binds for keys that were button-down only.
  • Per-hero settings: hold Tab in the Settings menu to see which settings can differ by hero.
  • Shareable Settings: copy your reticle and keybind settings as a code, or apply someone else's, with preview and undo.
  • International Keyboard: the menu detects your keyboard's shape and layout.
  • Spectating keybinds to cycle through players in replays and spectating, with hotkeys for each hero on the top bar.

Controller and Steam Input

Deadlock supports controllers through Steam Input. Valve's Nov 7, 2024 update added a Controller tab, all missing Steam Input actions to the Key Bindings screen, official configs for Steam Deck and DualSense, and let the Steam Deck see the Key Bindings screen; it also replaced legacy analog modes with camera Steam Input modes, so "Some users may need to re-bind their joysticks/gyros".

Three official control schemes followed on Dec 6, 2024: Standard, Gyro and FlickStick, made with advice from FlickStickVids. On Feb 25, 2025 Valve added Switch Pro configs (Standard, Gyro, Gyro plus FlickStick) and made the default suggested config Gyro Enabled with standard stick controls. Valve has not said whether controllers get aim assist; no patch note mentions it. For the Steam Deck itself, see Settings and Performance.

Accessibility options

City Never Sleeps added dedicated accessibility settings for visuals, audio and controls (Valve, Sep 29, 2026):

Option What it does
Enemy UI Color Changes the colors of certain enemy UI elements
VO Subtitles Subtitles for in-game dialogue, with size, color and font options
Auto Move Double-tap Move Forward to keep moving; Move Forward or Move Back stops
Auto Fire Fires without holding Fire; press Fire to stop and again to resume
Auto Mantle Mantles onto ledges you walk into, forward or backward, without Jump
Reduced Camera Shake Less shake from impacts and explosions
Reticle colors Custom fill and border colors for the crosshair

Source: Valve's City Never Sleeps page, Sep 29, 2026.

Older options remain. Since Dec 6, 2024, "Force English Hero Names" and "Force English Item Names" show those names in English in any language, which helps when following English guides.

Crosshair

The crosshair is set in the Reticle settings, and since Sep 29, 2026 it can be shared as a single code (Valve). The older way is the console: PCGamesN (updated Jan 26, 2026) lists the citadel_crosshair_pip_gap, _pip_height, _pip_width, _pip_opacity, _dot_opacity and color commands, and gives shroud's crosshair: cyan (r 0, g 255, b 255), width 2, height 6, gap -2, dot opacity 0.7 and dot outline 0.9. Dexerto (Jul 15, 2026) uses a green, fixed reticle with reticle motion off.

Frequently asked questions

What are the default controls in Deadlock? Deadlock's default controls are WASD to move, Space to jump, Left Shift to dash, Left Ctrl to crouch or slide, 1 to 4 for abilities, Z, X and C for items, Q to melee and F to parry, per Dexerto's Jul 15, 2026 guide. Mouse 1 fires and Mouse 2 zooms.

How do you parry in Deadlock? In Deadlock, parry is on F by default: press it as an enemy winds up a heavy melee, and a successful parry stuns the attacker for about two seconds, as Esports.gg explains. Since Sep 29, 2026 the parry cooldown shows next to your reticle.

Can you play Deadlock with a controller? Yes: Deadlock supports controllers through Steam Input, with official Standard, Gyro and FlickStick schemes since Dec 6, 2024 and configs for DualSense, Steam Deck and Switch Pro controllers. Valve made Gyro the default suggested config on Feb 25, 2025.

How do I share my keybinds in Deadlock? Since the City Never Sleeps update of Sep 29, 2026, Deadlock's settings can copy your reticle and keybinds as a code that another player applies, with a preview and an undo.

What is the best sensitivity for Deadlock? Dexerto uses a Deadlock mouse sensitivity of 0.33 at 400 DPI, Y-axis scaling 1 and a zoom sensitivity ratio of 1.33 (Jul 15, 2026). The Hideout's practice range is the place to test a new sensitivity.

Does Deadlock have accessibility options? Yes: Deadlock's City Never Sleeps update added Enemy UI Color, VO subtitles with size, color and font options, Auto Move, Auto Fire, Auto Mantle and Reduced Camera Shake on Sep 29, 2026.

Sources

Moments

The Only Beginner’s Guide You Need for Deadlock (Updated)

Metro Deadlock

  1. Deadlock's default controls put movement on WASD, jump and mantle on Space, dash on Left Shift, crouch and slide on…
  2. Some keys do double duty. Space both jumps and cancels a cast, and Left Shift's dash is the start of most of the…

See also

About this page

Last updated Oct 26, 2026 by the Vi.ki team. Page text CC BY-SA 4.0.

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