Why is Valve making another MOBA when Dota 2 still exists?

When is Deadlock releasing?

How can I get an invite to play Deadlock?

Reason 1: Deadlock is unashamedly itself

Reason 2: The skill ceiling is high and oh-so rewarding

Reason 3: You can learn with your (metaphorical) fists

Reason 4: It's got Style

Multiplayer games making headlines is hardly a rarity in 2026, as the ill-advised wave of COVID-era investment in live-service games continues breaking on the shore. Valve’s Deadlock is different. It's a mashup of styles, with elements of things like Dota 2 and Valorant, a little Risk of Rain, a splash of Hades, and plenty of its own unique spirit too. It's impressive, especially for a game whose makers didn't even intend for it to be widely playable yet.

People are playing the hell out of Deadlock, though. Following its big January 2026 update, Deadlock's concurrent player count surpassed Overwatch's on Steam, and for good reason. Even with months or years left in development, Deadlock is the best it’s ever been. If you’re not playing it, well, you should be.

Deadlock is a free-to-play multiplayer shooter from Valve, the makers of Steam and its associated bits of hardware, Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, and so on. Risk of Rain 2 creator Duncan Drummond is part of the design team, and Dota 2 director "IceFrog" is also involved.

Teams of four or six battle for control over an objective on the streets of New York, where paranormal forces run rampant. The objective, and the team size, vary depending on which mode you're playing, but Deadlock is still a MOBA either way. That's "multiplayer online battle arena" in normal-speak, and it means a few things:

Heroes have built-in abilities with lengthy cooldown timers, and you can upgrade abilities as a match progresses

Defeating "mobs" of standard foes helps you earn currency to spend on boosting your abilities

Heroes fall into defense, support, and damage categories, and you're expected to play to their strengths, e.g. distracting enemies and taking hits if you're a tank

Maps are divided into lanes you're meant to stay in to press your attack or defend your team

Why is Valve making another MOBA when Dota 2 still exists?

Dota 2 is more of your traditional MOBA — top-down perspective, clear lanes to play in, skill-based progression.........

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