Deadlock: Alpha test, characters, gameplay & more

Valve’s hero shooter MOBA, Deadlock, has finally arrived in early access after being leaked heavily online. It’s already racked up quite the player count thanks to its action-packed gameplay.

The game has long been on the minds of Valve fans being the developer’s franchise release since 2020. Fans of Half-Life and Dota creators have been eagerly awaiting the team’s next big project, and Deadlock’s playtest is now available.

So, here’s everything you need to know about the game, including its gameplay, characters and so much more.

A launch date is still a way off

There’s no official details around Deadlock’s launch just yet, markedly because the game is still in its early days of development. 

However, recent leaks and rumors circulating online imply that it’s aiming for a full release in 2025.

Deadlock is currently available to play via an Alpha Playtest although access is a bit limited. If you want to know how to get in, our early access guide has you covered.

As soon as more concrete release date information is revealed we’ll be sure to update this page.

A free to play Deadlock is in question

Currently, there’s been no announcement regarding Deadlocks position as a free to play game. Currently, in its playtest format, the title is free to download and enjoy, but whether it stays free when it fully comes out is yet to be confirmed by Valve.

However, we have reason to believe Deadlock will be free upon its release. Similar games from Valve, like Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and Dota are all free to play, so it makes sense that Deadlock will follow in their footsteps.

Deadlock gameplay explained

Valve’s newest game is a 6v6 hero shooter with MOBA elements. It features a varied roster of colorful characters with unique abilities that can be upgraded throughout a match to become even more powerful.

• The map in Deadlock consists of 4 lanes and players will have to destroy two enemies and their Patron to win the match.
• Before you can do this, however, you’ll need to take out minions to collect Souls which are used to purchase new items and boost your power.

While Deadlock has drawn comparisons to Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 due to its combat mechanics and cartoon-style graphics, it plays more like Epic Games’ old MOBA Paragon.

All characters released so far

There are a total of 21 playable characters in Deadlock’s Alpha playtest, of which you can find a full list below — we’ve also included links where relevant to our dedicated hero build guides:

• Pocket
• Lady Giest
• Dynamo
• Warden
• Ivy
• Yamato
• Seven
• Infernus
• Mo & Krill
• Grey Talon
• Abrams
• Shiv
• Bebop
• Viscous
• Vindicta
• Haze
• Wraith
• Paradox
• Lash
• Kelvin
• McGinnis

And if you’re curious about what characters are ruling the meta right now, we’ve got you covered with our hero tier list.

A console release seems unlikely

Consoles aren’t short of hero shooters these days with Overwatch 2, and Valorant both seeing success on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X, and Marvel Rivals being well received during its beta periods.

Unfortunately for Deadlock, a console port seems unlikely considering Valve hasn’t released a game on console in 12 years. There haven’t been any signs that the devs are keen to port anything else over since, though given other hero shooters’ successes on console, there would be a big audience waiting for Deadlock if it did ever arrive.

Plugging a controller into the playtest does bring up a fully integrated UI and controller bindings however, but this may just indicate that full controller support will be available when it launches out of early access.

If any official news about a console edition is revealed, we’ll be sure to update this page.

That’s everything we know about Deadlock so far. For more upcoming games, check out our hubs for GTA 6, Silent Hill 2, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero.