Images leak of Valve’s next game, and it’s an Overwatch-style hero shooter

Valve’s next game is an Overwatch-style third-person hero shooter named Deadlock, a new report has stated.

Details have emerged from an ongoing closed alpha playtest of the game, which veteran Valve reporter Tyler McVicker said currently has “hundreds” of people playing, ahead of an imminent public announcement for the project.

Competitive gaming YouTubers have also now been invited to try the build – and perhaps inevitably, it looks like someone has decided to break their NDA.

Images from Deadlock’s playtest now circulating on social media show six-vs-six teams battling on large maps with lanes, with usable items and hero abilities.

McVicker describes the project as having MOBA and tower defense-inspired elements – “like Valorant, Overwatch, Dota 2 and Team Fortress 2 had a baby.”

The sci-fi setting of the game looks distinct from that of any Valve game setting so far – so no, this isn’t a new Half-Life spin-off. Images show a character named Gray Talon, armed with a bow who can also use traps.

McVicker reports that Deadlock is Valve’s next “major” project, and that it has been in development in one form or another since 2018. That’s well before the ever-secretive Valve launched Counter-Strike 2 last year as a replacement for CS:GO, and even before it launched Half-Life: Alyx in 2020 for SteamVR-compatible headsets.

As for when we’ll see Deadlock announced, the large playtest suggests it won’t be long now.