Deadlock's Spooky New Update Adds 6 Heroes and a Haunted City

Valve's invite-only MOBA Deadlock gets a massive update with a haunted city makeover, six new heroes including the Rat King, and tons of gameplay tweaks.

Ever wanted to fight in a city that's equal parts spooky and stylish? Deadlock's latest update, City Never Sleeps, just dropped, and it's completely transformed the game's cursed city into something even more eerie. Valve's second major overhaul for the invite-only MOBA gives it a stronger visual identity, six new heroes, and a huge list of tweaks.

The entire map has been redecorated into three distinct themes: a bright city center, a haunted university, and a shadowy stock exchange. Buildings and creeps have been redesigned to match, so you'll see pickle jars with hands growing out of them, sentient stacks of books in the right lane, and slimy trashbag monsters in the left lane. There are also four districts with their own identities, like a theater district infested with literal stage hands pulling the strings on steampunk-style automatons. Atop the Chinatown district is a bell tower where teams can fight over a fountain of souls for a currency advantage. Even the wooden crates you smash are now padlocked and bolted shut. It's a whole new playground that'll take time to figure out.

Meanwhile, Valve has prepared six new heroes who'll be released based on a player voting system, just like the previous set. My money's on the Rat King taking the lead—he's a crowned rodent that began as a fan concept a year ago and quickly became a community meme. But the others look great too: a nurse who holds a needle like a gun, a Chess master who seems to float like Overwatch's Zenyatta, a skeleton with a rocket launcher, a cozy old witch (who I do not trust), and a young artist wielding a paintbrush. Two heroes will drop each week, with the first debuting this Friday.

Beyond the heroes and map, there are plenty of quality-of-life changes. Player health bars are bolder and more readable, and small indicators now help you see nearby teammates. The kill feed is clearer, the shop interface is more intuitive with filters, and there are new ways to ping locations and objects. Characters have double the voice lines, which you can listen to in a new menu. You can also create bots to practice on, get a more comprehensive breakdown of combat details, and enjoy new accessibility options like custom UI colors, subtitles, and auto-move, mantle, and shoot.

All of this is only a fraction of what Valve has added—some things are intentionally kept secret for players to discover. Despite the update's size, Deadlock still requires an invite to play. One has to wonder how many more updates it'll take before the game finally releases to the public. What do you think? Will you be trying to get an invite, or are you waiting for the full launch?