Overview

6 Deadlock pages in Overview.

• DeadlockDeadlock is Valve's six-versus-six third-person hero shooter and MOBA set in an occult New York, in an invite-only playtest on Steam since 2024 with no release date. It has 44 heroes as of Oct 26, 2026, and reached an all-time peak of 303,347 Steam players on Oct 16, 2026, even though you can only join through a friend's invite.
• Development HistoryDeadlock grew out of Valve projects reported under the codenames Citadel and Neon Prime, leaked in May 2024 during a closed playtest, and was revealed by Valve on Aug 23, 2024. Since then Valve has rebuilt its map, shop, Patrons and matchmaking in public, added 23 heroes, and said on Sep 29, 2026 that progression and customization are still to come before full release.
• How to Get an InviteTo play Deadlock you need an invite from a Steam friend who already has it: they click "Invite your friends" in the game's start menu and pick you, and Valve says invites typically arrive within one to two days as a Steam notification. Deadlock cannot be bought, has no waitlist and does not appear in Steam search.
• Lore and SettingDeadlock is set in the Cursed Apple, Valve's occult, alternate-history New York, where every match is a ritual in which two Patrons, the Hidden King and the Archmother, compete to be summoned. Valve tells its story in short hero texts and update pages rather than a campaign, and has given no year for the setting.
• Release Date and PlaytestDeadlock has no release date: as of Oct 26, 2026 its Steam page says "Planned Release Date: To be announced", and the game is an invite-only playtest in early development with temporary art and experimental gameplay. Valve's Sep 29, 2026 post lists progression and hero and Hideout customization as work still to do before full release.
• Steam Player CountDeadlock's all-time peak is 303,347 concurrent Steam players on Oct 16, 2026, the day Violet was released, as SteamDB measured. On Oct 26, 2026 it was 9th on Steam with a 24-hour peak of 267,268, although it is still an invite-only playtest.

Every page