Image: Valve
Valve is reportedly making an Overwatch-like 6v6 hero shooter, according to recent leaks and screenshots from the project.
Details on Valve’s next game have sprung up online via a series of reports and leaked screenshots, apparently taken from early playtests of the project. According to known leaker Gabe Follower on Twitter/X, the Dota 2 developer's new game is a 6v6 hero shooter much like Overwatch, but with third-person gameplay and tower defense mechanics. Previously referred to as ‘Neon Prime’ and ‘Citadel’ in various rumours over the last few years, the game is now called Deadlock.
Several leaked screenshots from the game have emerged online over the past 24 hours, including the one below:
Details and screenshots from Valve’s next game leak online
Valve is making a new hero shooter called Deadlock. Whether or not this game actually comes out is an entirely different matter, but we do know quite a lot about the project thanks to several leaked screenshots and descriptions that have found their way online this week. The game is now titled Deadlock, and is described by Gabe Follower as a, “competitive third person hero-based shooter,” with, “6 vs 6 battling on [a] huge map with 4 lanes.”
However, Valve is delivering a unique twist on the typical hero shooter here by incorporating elements from other games, including its own Counter-Strike franchise with, “usable abilities and items,” for one. Deadlock will also feature tower defense mechanics in the vein of games like Orcs Must Die, and, “fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite.” The leaker sums up the game as such: “Basically, fast-paced interesting ADHD gameplay. Combination of Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Overwatch, Valorant, Smite, Orcs Must Die.”
Interestingly, the leak also notes that Deadlock’s hero design is, “pretty much,” inspired by the Dota universe. The game has a fantasy-steampunk setting with, “magicians, weird creatures and robots,” and a map modelled after a steampunk European city. It’s said that the game was initially inspired by Half-Life and Portal’s sci-fi settings, but pivoted to fantasy after negative early feedback.
Two more screenshots from the game have been shared to Reddit, as seen below:
