Images showing what is reportedly Valve‘s next game are circulating on social media.
According to Tyler McVicker, who has a good track record of reporting details of Valve projects ahead of their announcement, the game is called Deadlock and “hundreds” of people are currently playtesting it.
Images allegedly from a private playtest of the game appear to show 6v6 gameplay, with abilities not unlike those in Overwatch or similar competitive hero shooters.
According to McVicker, the game has been in development since 2018, features tower defence mechanics and has a fantasy setting mixed with steampunk.
“Magicians, weird creatures and robots,” he wrote. “Fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite.”
He added: “Basically, fast-paced interesting ADHD gameplay. Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die.
“Hero design pretty much inspired by Dota universe,” McVicker said. “Main map references modern steampunk European city (little bit like Half-Life). Initially game had sci-fi elements inspired by Half-Life and Portal, but after bad feedback dev team decided to focus on fantasy.”
— Gabe Follower (@gabefollower) May 16, 2024
Valve co-founder and CEO Gabe Newell said in 2021 that the company had multiple games in development and was keen to make more single-player experiences following Half-Life Alyx’s release the previous year.
The company’s most recent release was last year’s Counter-Strike 2. Before this, it had mainly focused on VR titles for some years. Valve has reportedly developed and subsequently cancelled dozens of titles in recent years.