Short Game Format
Join a quick 4v4 battle for the city over a best-of-five match. Each round takes a couple of minutes.
January 2026 update
Old Gods, New Blood — Deadlock major update
Major update
The ritual takes form…
Overhauled Patrons and bases, six new heroes, a fast-paced game mode 'Street Brawl', HUD updates, many quality-of-life additions, revamped postgame with an MVP screen, and more.
Street Brawl
A new fast-paced game mode
Streamlined Shopping
Players choose from a random set of items, adding three items to their inventory each round.
Level Playing Field
Each round players start with equal resources. No farming.
Drop a piano on someone's head…
If you're lucky, an Enhanced or Legendary item might make an appearance.
Behold the Patrons
New bosses, bases, troopers, & defensive abilities
The stretching shadow of a skyscraper… a boarded-up apartment in Hell's Kitchen… The Hidden King exists in the cracks of the city, waiting for his followers to usher him into the light.
Glass, steel and stone… Order and power where once there was none… The Archmother has always guided the founders' hands, and now it is time for them to welcome her home.
Six New Arrivals
The hero pool deepens
Two heroes release per week
Mondays & Thursdays at 2PM PST starting January 26th
Your vote determines the release order
Earn votes by playing
First Win of the Day
Play a Standard Match or Street Brawl to earn votes. Your first win of the day gives you 4 additional votes. Cast your votes in the ballot box located in the Hideout.
New Hero Priority Tokens
Starting on the first hero release, playing will earn you priority tokens. Tokens can be used to more reliably select the new hero you want to play the most. Tokens are earned at a faster rate the more new heroes are in the pool.
In-game Sprays
Use the new spray feature to demonstrate your support for your favorite upcoming hero by campaigning for their release around the map during your match.
Revamped Postgame
New MVP scoring system and postgame summary
UI Improvements
HUD, chat, & visibility
Reactive Portraits
Your hero portrait changes based on how you are doing in game.
Kill Streaks
Show off your hot streak.
Chat
Various chat visual improvements and updated ally vs. enemy chat styles.
Custom Channel Bars
Players now have animated custom channel bars for each of their channeled abilities.
Damage Impact Indicator
Hit them where it hurts.
New Damage Numbers
More responsive hit feedback while shooting and using abilities.
Steam Game Recording
Timeline improvements for various game events.
Updated Scoreboard
Everything you need at a glance.
Objective Health Bars
Defeat the enemy Patron in style.
Mid Boss Timer
Keep track of when Mid Boss will spawn next directly on the minimap.
Random Hero Button
Leave the choice to fate.
Rejuv Duration Timer
More easily track the rejuv timer before it expires.
Visibility Outlines
Improved readability for players and structures during gameplay.
Hole Punch View
A new Camera Hole Punch system reduces the amount of unexpected camera movement when running in front of obstructions. The camera will peer through the objects instead of pushing toward the player character.
Neutrals Near Walls
Jungle camps now glow through walls when you are in close proximity, to help aid in navigation.
Settings Rework
Settings Search
Quickly find and update the setting you are looking for on the fly.
Custom Reticle Control
New custom reticle editor with live-preview to help you find the perfect crosshair.
FOV Slider
Instead of a single legacy FOV option, you can now adjust the camera more gradually.
Ongoing Map Updates
The city that never sleeps
Also in this Update…
Two New Items
Ballistic Enchantment
Imbue an ability with increased range. Dealing damage with that ability grants you increased weapon damage per target hit.
Recharging Rush
Dealing significant Weapon Damage replenishes a charge for each of your charged abilities.
And the following changes:
- Improved trooper AI
- New music added
- New voices for the patrons
- Build authoring improvements
- Chat settings rework
- Improved anticheat
- Improved replay compatibility across game updates
- Network prediction improvements
- Improved trooper zipline movement code
- New item sounds
- Minor UI updates to ability tooltips
- Rendering performance improvements
- Improved light map compression
- Improved last hit/death feedback for troopers and players
- Improving healing related sounds
- Improved how heroes attach to ziplines
- Improved reverb for player sounds
- Items now display what abilities they imbue in tooltips
- Ultimate ability VO lines now receive unique processing to distinguish them from other VO lines
- Improved bullet whizby sound detection
- Additional VO for various heroes
- Refinements to announce response rules
- Chat Wheel now supports multiple nested segments and has improved gamefeel
- Improvements to damage flashes
- Added new tunnel routes in the map for tiny heroes
- And many other misc changes…
Images and videos — © Valve Corporation. Original: playdeadlock.com/oldgods
Did the patch shake the meta?
While everyone else adjusts to the new numbers, a booster raises your rank, or a coach shows you how to play after the changes.