Deadlock - A Look into Valve's New MOBA Shooter Game

If you haven't heard by now, Deadlock is the hottest new game on the market. Whilst only being invite-only, it has amassed over 160,000 players at the time of writing this article. Not only has Valve earned high praises from casual players, but it seems pros from both the shooter and MOBA scenes are digging this weird Dota 2 meets Counter-Strike 2 hybrid. 

Not only is the game very addictive, but it seems that some of the best developers are working on Deadlock to ensure that it becomes a well-polished titan that might start dominating the Esports scene on arrival. Having that in mind, we will take a look at everything we know so far about Deadlock.

What is Deadlock?

Deadlock is a 6v6 third-person MOBA shooter. Right from the get-go, that is a lot to take in as many players might be asking themselves how on Earth Valve even came up with this idea. Well, to be frank, it is nothing novel, but it is precisely their execution and absolute brilliance that separates Deadlock from other similar games.

By taking the best aspects of MOBA and shooter games, this amalgamation has quickly made its way to everybody's screens. By introducing complex movement mechanics, coupled with an intuitive item shop with easy-to-learn characters, you get a rather fascinating gem of a game. 

Although the game can be quite challenging to pick up in the beginning, it has resonated with the Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, and even Overwatch communities to the point that many are leaving their favorite games to master Deadlock.

Why is Deadlock so Popular?

There is no concrete answer, it is simply a mix of hype, streamers and content creators promoting the game, and the outright engaging community which has resulted in Deadlock's success despite still being in early development without even having an official release date. 

Of course, the game has a lot of balancing and adjustments that need to be implemented, and yet players are having a lot of fun trying out different builds and characters to achieve victory. 

The game plays out as your standard MOBA as the map has 4 lanes, creeps, jungle monsters, and neutral objectives with the simple objective of tearing down the enemy base. Players can easily be very skeptical, but in reality, the formula just works. 

Deadlock - A Rare Gem in the Making

Unfortunately, Deadlock has very limited information, with most players either relying on its Wikipedia article or insight from various developers on social media. Originally, Valve filed a trademark for the name Neon Prime back in October 2022. It was rumored that IceFrog (the lead designer of Dota) was working on the game.

The game was intended to have a sci-fi aesthetic, however, as of August 23, 2024, Deadlock was formally announced by Valve and now thousands of players are flocking to give it a try, with many boasting over 500 hours of gametime. 

At the moment, the game has received 2 official updates with more possibly coming very soon given the massive amount of playtesters and feedback that the community is offering on a daily basis. With that being said, if you would like to play Deadlock, you can check out our short guide on how you can get invited, here.