The May 2024 Deadlock leaks showed a game that combined third-person hero-shooter combat with lanes, tower-defense elements and fast rail travel. That mix made it easy to recognize pieces of other games, but the footage was only a glimpse of a work in progress—not proof that Deadlock was simply a mash-up or that its final design was settled.
What the Deadlock leak showed
In May 2024, leaked footage presented Deadlock as a competitive, third-person, hero-based game. Ars Technica described six-versus-six matches on four lanes, tower-defense mechanics and floating rails players could use to move quickly around the map. GameSpot also reported seeing a training mode, several heroes and rideable aerial lines. These were contemporary accounts of leaked footage, not an official specification of the finished game.
The combination explains the “pressed sandwich” image in Ars Technica’s headline: the visible combat suggested a shooter, while lanes and defensive objectives suggested a MOBA. The rails added a conspicuous traversal idea of their own, which Ars compared to BioShock Infinite.
Which games did Deadlock look like?
Valve-focused leaker Gabe Follower described the game as a “Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die.” Ars and GameSpot attributed this influence list to him; it was not a statement from Valve or a confirmed design brief.
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| Comparison | What the leak-era reporting supports |
|---|---|
| Dota 2 and other MOBA conventions | Four lanes and reported tower-defense mechanics gave the footage a MOBA-like match structure. Ars also included Dota 2 in the influence list attributed to Gabe Follower. |
| Team Fortress 2, Overwatch and Valorant | The third-person shooter and hero-based framing made shooter comparisons natural. Gabe Follower named these games in his attributed list; the reports do not establish that Deadlock copied their specific systems. |
| Smite | Its inclusion in Gabe Follower’s list points to a possible genre comparison, but the cited reports do not provide a detailed mechanic-by-mechanic comparison. |
| Orcs Must Die | Gabe Follower named it alongside the reported tower-defense elements. That resemblance does not establish that the games share a particular defensive system. |
| BioShock Infinite | Ars compared Deadlock’s reported floating-rail travel to the rail traversal in BioShock Infinite. |
The reports also described a steampunk- and fantasy-influenced city setting, giving Deadlock a distinct visual backdrop from the cited games. Those observations characterize the leaked glimpse; they do not settle how the finished game would look or play.
Is Deadlock a MOBA or a shooter?
The leak-era description points to both. Third-person aiming and hero characters put shooting in the foreground; lanes and tower-defense mechanics point toward MOBA-style structure. Calling it only a shooter misses the reported lane-based layer, while calling it only a MOBA misses the direct shooter framing. The most useful description is a hybrid, based on what the 2024 footage and coverage showed—not a definitive genre label from Valve.
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Why the leaks were not a final verdict
Leaked footage can make a game’s ingredients visible before its identity is clear. A hero, lane or movement system may resemble something familiar on its own; the way systems work together, and how they change through development, matters just as much.
Valve’s June 27, 2024 developer patch notes documented changes to matchmaking, voice settings, map objectives, powerups, items and hero abilities. Those notes show active iteration, but each change belongs to that dated version and should not be treated as a statement of the game’s current mechanics.
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In a September 30, 2026 report on Valve’s development update, PC Gamer said Deadlock remained invite-only and that Valve considered more core-game work necessary before a broader release. Valve framed early access to players as a way to learn what is fun and shape a multiplayer game, not as evidence that the game was ready for public release. The same report described possible item changes and alternate modes as speculative and subject to playtesting, rather than confirmed features.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you play Deadlock now?
As of PC Gamer’s September 30, 2026 report, Deadlock was still invite-only, with more core development work remaining before a broader release. Access and development status can change, so that description is specific to the report’s date; it is not a promise of an imminent launch.
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