Deadlock's New Heroes Are Pure New York Chaos

Valve's Deadlock just unveiled six new heroes as part of City Never Sleeps, and they're a love letter to New York City's weirdest characters. Here's why that matters.

Ever dreamed of a MOBA where a chess-playing grandpa and a pigeon-feeding grandma are viable picks? Deadlock just made that dream real.

Valve's MOBA has always been proudly, specifically New York. The Cursed Apple isn't just "urban fantasy" – it's the city's soul dragged through a macabre magic prism. The latest hero drop, City Never Sleeps, doubles down hard on that identity. We're talking Solomon, a chessboard-wielding wizard who's basically that old dude you see hustling in the park every morning. Baba, a cheeky Slavic folklore twist on the grandma feeding pigeons on a bench. And yes, the literal Rat King, who makes all da rules – because of course the giant slimy rats gnawing on floor pizza needed a ruler.

But here's the thing: these aren't just gimmicks. Deadlock never leaves its characters flat. Vyper isn't only a slithering sewer lizard with a gun – she's a chronic flirt and a dismal career criminal. Seven might look like a cackling pulp villain, but he's got tender memories of his buddy Kelvin and a soft spot for the childlike goo monster Viscous. That depth is rare in a genre where heroes often feel like action figures: loud, simple, function-first.

Why does that matter? Most MOBA rosters trace back to Warcraft. Dota 2's Disruptor is basically Thrall but red, and League of Legends started by retooling rough DotA counterparts. Heroes of the Storm is a Smash Bros. grab bag, and Smite leans on real-world mythology – which comes with its own archetypal baggage. Deadlock sidesteps all that. It's an original story with a blank canvas, and Valve is clearly relishing it.

The community is eating it up. Fan art is pouring out for all six new heroes, even though only one is playable right now. Players are already speculating about names for the Rat King's 100+ rat citizens, and Valve patched in over 10,000 non-ping voice lines in a single pre-release update. Yesterday, the game hit a new all-time concurrent player peak on SteamDB. That's two years into a "private" playtest, by the way.

So what's next? The community's wishlist is delightfully unhinged: a ghostly muckraker journalist, a witch with a hot dog cart, a monstrous landlord who charges soul rent. And unlike crossover fighters, there's no stench of advertising – just a pulpy fantasy world celebrating the real one outside. Deadlock feels fresh because it's not sketching in familiar margins. It's building something new from the city's weirdest corners.

Will you be jumping into the playtest to try these heroes out, or are you holding out for that hot dog witch? Let us know in the comments!