Valve might be more known for its Steam Deck handheld and its video game retail platform Steam these days, but according to leaks, the company is working on its next game — a third-person, hero-based shooter known as Deadlock.
Screenshots of the game and basic details were posted on X (formerly Twitter) by noted Valve game data miner Gabe Follower and on YouTube by Tyler McVicker, who also has a proven track record of leaking Valve info. Both posted about Deadlock first on Thursday, saying it would feature teams of six battling each other on a map with four lanes. It would also feature art that looks inspired by DOTA, the company’s multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) series, with steampunk mixed in for good measure.
“Usable abilities and items. Tower defense mechanics. Fantasy setting mixed with steampunk. Magicians, weird creatures, and robots. Fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite,” Follower’s post read. On Friday, Follower posted screenshots that he “can verify.” One refers to a character called Grey Talon, a white-haired man with a futuristic bow and arrow. The description says Grey Talon can use traps as well.
In his video, McVicker claimed that Deadlock was in closed alpha, would feature tower defense mechanics, and that an announcement was coming very soon. He also said that a lot of people have already been playtesting the game.
Valve’s latest games include Half-Life: Alyx, a VR prequel to Half-Life 2 that launched in 2020, and Counter-Strike 2, a sequel to its massively popular multiplayer shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, which released last year. Beyond Half-Life: Alyx, Valve’s video game efforts appear to be based around multiplayer offerings as of late, so Deadlock would potentially fit in with that strategy.
