Valve’s Next Game Reportedly an Overwatch-Style Hero Shooter Called Deadlock [IGN]

Valve reporter Tyler McVicker published a video to YouTube in which he claimed Deadlock is currently in closed alpha, with an announcement said to be imminent. Competitive gaming YouTubers are reportedly already playing under a non-disclosure agreement.

However, that hasn’t stopped what looks like a slew of screenshots showing off Deadlock. X/Twitter account @gabefollower was first with the details, describing Deadlock as a third-person hero-based shooter, with 6v6 battles on big maps with four lanes. There are abilities and items alongside tower defense mechanics. The setting is described as fantasy with steampunk.

Since testers started sharing Deadlock screenshots all over the place, here’s ones I can verify, featuring one of the heroes called Grey Talon. pic.twitter.com/KdZSRxObSz

— ‎Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) May 17, 2024

These elements will be familiar to players of Valve’s multiplayer online battle area (MOBA) game Dota 2 as well as its own hero shooter, Team Fortress 2. Blizzard’s Overwatch, Riot’s Valorant, and Hi-Rez’s Smite also look like they’re in the mix.

Valve boss Gabe Newell is yet to announce Deadlock. IGN has asked Valve for comment.

Valve’s last developed game to release was competitive first-person shooter Counter-Strike 2, which effectively replaced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Before that, in 2020, Valve released Half-Life: Alyx exclusively for virtual reality headsets. Valve has also released a Dota-themed digital card game called Artifact and a Dota auto chess game called Dota Underlords, although both have failed to find as big of an audience as the company’s previous titles.

All the while, the wait for Half-Life 3 continues. Back in 2020, a making-of for Half-Life: Alyx revealed a swathe of games developed and shelved by Valve between the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Valve’s latest VR game. That list included details on a version of Half-Life 3 that was in development for around a year, and an open-world Left 4 Dead 3.

Photo by Olly Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.