Deadlock Steam
Bessie Murrillo
Valve might have sprung a leak. A handful of screenshots supposedly from Valve's next big game, allegedly a competitive shooter called Deadlock, appeared on 4Chan and Twitter yesterday. The word from multiple dedicated Valve sleuths on Twitter is that Deadlock is a 6v6 third-person shooter that takes inspiration from Overwatch, Team Fortress 2, and Dota 2.
"6 vs 6 battling on huge maps with 4 lanes. Usable abilities and items. Tower defense mechanics," he said of the project yesterday on Twitter. "Fantasy setting mixed with steampunk. Magicians, weird creatures and robots. Fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite."
Gabe Follower also claims that Deadlock is the up-to-date title for a Valve project we already knew existed: Neon Prime. The name change could be explained by a previous version of Deadlock supposedly having a sci-fi art style, since evolving into fantasy and steampunk.
"Hero design pretty much inspired by Dota universe," he continued. "Main map references modern steampunk European city (little bit like Half-Life). Initially game had sci-fi elements inspired by Half-Life and Portal, but after bad feedback dev team decided to focus on fantasy."
The compressed screenshots making the rounds are unsourced, but they are somewhat convincing. The UI design language, character designs, minimap, and font choices are consistent with Dota. If it's a fabrication, it's a darn good one. Assuming Deadlock is real, the leaks are not getting the most glowing first impressions. Several have been quick to point out that 6v6 shooters with heroes and abilities feels a little old hat in 2024, while others object to its tech fantasy art style that, admittedly, is giving Battleborn.
Predictably, some fans are also disappointed that Valve is making yet another shooter that isn't Team Fortress 3, calling Deadlock a "trend-chasing" effort that doesn't stand out. To be fair, out-of-context screenshots released into the wild from an unfinished game is a surefire way to get negative reactions.
We don't know how long ago these screenshots were taken or how far along the project is now, if it's even real. The whole UI looks like placeholders, and the flat lighting in the depicted maps suggest they're far from complete, too. You only need to glance at Counter-Strike 2 to see how nice a fully-cooked Source 2 game can look these days, so it'd be smart to take these leaks with a grain of salt. What I'm seeing does not inspire joy, but we are potentially talking about the next Valve game. Battleborn vibes and Overwatch comparisons be damned, when the house that Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Dota 2 built has something cooking, I'm automatically interested.
As Garry's Mod creator Garry Newman put it on Twitter: "Enjoying watching everyone hating on 4 badly compressed screenshots of a closed alpha game, while 100% certain they'll be stepping on each other's throats to play it."
That said, the last decade of Valve's service game focus has produced several high-profile stinkers, too. Artifact, the studio's big swing at Hearthstone, and Dota Underlords, its standalone auto chess spinoff, were total whiffs. We've reached out to Valve for comment and will update this story if we hear more.
Morgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though."}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Morgan ParkSocial Links NavigationStaff WriterMorgan has been writing for PC Gamer since 2018, first as a freelancer and currently as a staff writer. He has also appeared on Polygon, Kotaku, Fanbyte, and PCGamesN. Before freelancing, he spent most of high school and all of college writing at small gaming sites that didn't pay him. He's very happy to have a real job now. Morgan is a beat writer following the latest and greatest shooters and the communities that play them. He also writes general news, reviews, features, the occasional guide, and bad jokes in Slack. Twist his arm, and he'll even write about a boring strategy game. Please don't, though.
Valve is reportedly developing a new competitive shooter called Deadlock, similar to Overwatch 2 and Valorant. New information about the project has emerged, sparking mixed reactions within the community.
Valve is a major player in the gaming industry, with titles like Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 under its belt. Now, credible sources report that it is working on a competitive shooter similar to Overwatch, TF2, and Valorant.
Fans who had been following Valve closely knew this project as Neon Prime. However, no other details were known about it. Now, Gabe Follower has unearthed crucial intel pointing at a Valorant-style third-person competitive shooter.
The game will have fantasy and steampunk themes, according to Gabe Follower. While the heroes are reportedly inspired by Dota 2, Valve may throw in some new concepts to mix things up. Gabe added that the game will also feature agent-specific items and unique map gimmicks such as floating rails.
Deadlock is expected to be a mega project, so it may have some of the best developers working on it. Other players are enraged at Valve for not pouring its all into CS2, which is still in dire need of a better anti-cheat.
Valve has been releasing new games while also providing updates for CS2, so these concerns may eventually go away. As the game development progresses, more details about Deadlock are expected to emerge soon.
Multiple screenshots for the new Valve hero shooter Deadlock have been leaked online, bringing more validity to recent rumors and speculation regarding the unannounced title. Valve appears to be playtesting Deadlock, so an official reveal of the new hero shooter could potentially arrive soon.
Rumors of Deadlock first appeared on May 16 from content creator Gabe Follower on Twitter. According to Gabe Follower, Deadlock is being developed as a competitive third-person hero-based shooter with large four-lane maps designed for 6v6 matches. The game appears to combine elements of competing hero shooters, including Blizzard's Overwatch 2 and Riot Games' Valorant. Deadlock's setting is a mix of fantasy and steampunk, and the game's maps will have grapple rails similar to Bioshock Infinite.
Gabe Follower followed up on the initial Deadlock rumor by sharing screenshots of the hero shooter on Twitter, which were acquired from testers playing the new game. The leaked screenshots depict a 6v6 match in one of Deadlock's maps with 12 unique heroes on the field, similar to the original Overwatch game. One of these heroes is called Grey Talon, a bow wielder who utilizes traps and clever positioning in order to defeat his enemies at long ranges. Four skills are depicted next to the hero's official artwork, but descriptions of each skill were not given in the leak. Moreover, details about the other 11 heroes shown in the playtest were not revealed.
One of the leaked screenshots appears to show a "Get Started" tutorial menu, which provides an overview of various in-game elements such as basic controls, special moves, and match objectives. In the screenshot, the "Lanes" section is displayed with an image of the in-game map and its four lanes, lending more credence to the initial rumor. Each lane has a transit line that Deadlock players can ride on toward the center of the map. As a result, players can expect heated gunfights as they navigate toward the end of each lane, just like some of the maps found in Counter-Strike 2.
The new screenshots show that Valve aims to enter the hero shooter space with a unique title that could rival the likes of Overwatch 2 and Valorant. Deadlock will also compete with NetEase Games' Marvel Rivals, which is also a competitive third-person hero shooter. Competition in this genre could push the developers of each title to innovate and bring new ideas to the table. Valve has yet to officially reveal Deadlock, so fans will still need to keep their expectations in check regarding future leaks.
In June 2020, a deadlocked PUC refused to terminate the moratorium. In July 2020, a deadlocked commission failed to pass a motion to convene a stakeholders initiative to discuss ending the moratorium.
On August 25, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf announced a proposal for $100 million in grants to be divided between the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and a new emergency water/wastewater program to be administered by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority to assist residential customers who would be subject to termination of service when the moratorium is lifted. This proposal requires legislative approval and it is unclear exactly how the grant programs would be funded.
Republican lawmakers in the Senate and the House of Representatives are exploring ways to force the governor to end the disaster declaration. Earlier this summer, the General Assembly passed a resolution to force the governor to end the disaster emergency, but the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled that the legislature could not act unilaterally to terminate the emergency. The resolution was subsequently presented to the governor, who vetoed it. Some legislators have expressed interest in overriding the veto.
Jurors began deliberating last Thursday. They deadlocked 7-5 in favor of not guilty of perjury for allegedly lying in a probable cause declaration and 6-6 on a count of filing a false arrest report, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Gretchen Ford.
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