Are you a fan of Valve’s new MOBA title Deadlock? Well, you can play the game right now if you have an invite. Valve still limits the game on Steam, and it remains in a closed playtest with no announced release date. Even so, Deadlock peaked at 262,145 concurrent players on October 9, 2026.
This guide explains how to get a Deadlock invite, how to send invites, how to install the game, and what is known about the Deadlock release date and upcoming updates.
How to Play Deadlock on Steam
Deadlock is Valve’s 6v6 third-person hero shooter with MOBA elements. It is hosted only on Steam, and players cannot buy or download it from the store page.
Access works through friend invites. A player who already has the game sends an invite from the in-game menu. The new player gets a Steam notification, accepts it, and the game is added to their library.
The game is free to download once you have an invite. Valve can also send invites at random, so it helps to check your Steam notifications.
How to Get a Deadlock Invite
Follow these steps to join the Deadlock playtest:
- Find a player who has access.
- Add that player as a Steam friend.
- Ask them to send you an invite from the Deadlock main menu, then accept it when it arrives.
- Wait for Steam to process the invite and authorize your test access.
- Download and install the game. The install is about 30 GB.
- Launch Deadlock and complete the tutorial first.
Never pay for a Deadlock invite. Dignitas states that Valve’s invites are free and that any offer to sell access is not legitimate.
How to Send a Deadlock Invite
Players who already have access can invite friends. Open the Deadlock main menu and select the “Invite Your Friends” button. A list of your Steam friends will appear, split into friends you can invite, friends you already invited, and friends who already have the game.
Select a friend and click “Invite.” Valve stopped players from inviting limited Steam accounts in 2024. Those are accounts that have spent less than $5 in the Steam store.
Deadlock Release Date
Valve has not announced a Deadlock release date as of October 2026. The game is listed on Steam as “limited access” and has been in closed testing since August 2024.
There is no “request access” button on the store page. The City Never Sleeps update did not change that.
Deadlock Player Count Record
Deadlock set a new all-time Steam peak of 262,145 concurrent players on October 9, 2026, according to SteamDB. That figure passed the Team Fortress 2 record of 253,997 from 2023, TheGamer reported.
The previous Deadlock high came after the City Never Sleeps update. The table below shows the recent peaks.
| Date | Peak concurrent players |
|---|---|
| September 2, 2024 | 171,490 |
| September 29, 2026 | 228,086 |
| October 9, 2026 | 262,145 |
The 2024 record stood for two years. The September 29 peak broke it, and the October 9 peak topped that again. These figures count players online at the same time on Steam, not everyone who has tried the game.
What the City Never Sleeps Update Added
Valve released City Never Sleeps on September 29, 2026. The update added 6 new heroes, including the community-designed Rat King.
It also reworked the New York-inspired map and replaced the neutral camps with new enemies called Haunts. A merchant called The Broker arrived, and Valve changed parts of the HUD.
