Early test footage of what seems to be Valve’s recently announced multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) shooter, Deadlock, has surfaced online.
The footage was shared by X/Twitter user, content creator, and leaker @gabefollower, who says it comes from a Valve developer known as Yoshi. It’s a barebones version of the Deadlock we now know, with texture-less buildings, concrete floors, and triangle pine trees. As Gabe Follower points out, this early version also utilizes assets from a few other Valve titles. Half-Life Antlions, for example, can be seen filling the minion role, while the game also uses assets from titles like Left 4 Dead and Dota.
It’s far from impressive but still an interesting look at a game that we still know so little about. It’s unclear when exactly the footage was captured, but you can see what was shared below.
Valve dev "Yoshi" shared early footage of gameplay prototype for Deadlock. Placeholder assets from Left 4 Dead, Dota and Half-Life... pic.twitter.com/fmKfl7d1KA
— Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) August 26, 2024
Valve properly revealed Deadlock as its first new IP in years just last week. It’s a third-person, 6v6 shooter that’s still very much in early development, and the lead-up to its announcement has been anything but ordinary. The Half-Life and Portal developer has allowed a select group of players to play the game throughout the last few weeks, asking those who participate to refrain from sharing any content or opinions from their experience. It’s led to confusion among those not on the shortlist, as playtesters have still managed to sneak some gameplay footage onto social media. Meanwhile, PC statistic website SteamDB revealed a growing number of players flocking to Deadlock in secret through August, with players starting to join earlier this month and peaking at 44,512 users days before Valve pulled back the curtain.
Deadlock platforms have not yet been announced, but it is currently playable on PC for playtesters. No release date has been shared yet. While Valve keeps its head down to continue development, you can read about a few other early leaks that teased some of what would eventually be revealed as Deadlock.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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