Getting Started with Deadlock Playtest: Understanding Valve’s Early Access Alpha

Deadlock’s not-so-secret hero shooter MOBA is well into its playtest, but access is quite exclusive.

With tens of thousands of players online and gameplay footage steadily leaking since May, Valve has finally acknowledged the existence of its new game.

This recognition has contributed to mounting hype for Deadlock. With the player count consistently growing, you may be interested in how to gain access during early access, and this is how you can get in.

How to play Deadlock early

Currently, there are two main ways to gain early access to Deadlock: you can either be randomly invited by Valve or receive an invite from a friend.

Getting a random invite from Valve is the harder option, as it relies on luck. With numerous Steam accounts out there, your chances are minimal, but invites are being sent out regularly, so your odds are improving over time.

Keep in mind that you’ll need to add the person who invites you as a friend. Additionally, you could face a ban if the invitee gets caught cheating.

A Steam page for Deadlock is now live.

Valve has launched a Steam store page, indicating the game will soon be available to the public. Stay updated on this page for more details, including news on when the game will be released.

How to invite friends

If you’ve gained access and want to invite friends, simply follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the main menu.
2. In the bottom right corner, click on the blue box saying “Have friends who you’d like to play with in our playtests?” and select ‘Invite your Friends’.
3. Choose the Steam name of the friend you want to invite.
4. They should receive the invite within 1-2 days, although it may arrive sooner.

You can invite friends to the playtest via the game’s main menu.

And with that, you’re one step closer to having all your friends in Deadlock. Just be sure to add them as friends on Steam beforehand.

How long is the playtest?

Currently, there is no official end date for the playtest.

During the beta, there were specific time slots for each region for matchmaking, typically allowing play for about 12 hours each day. However, as of the September 12 update, matchmaking is now active 24/7.

If this mirrors Counter-Strike 2’s closed beta experience, it may last until the full release, but there is no official launch date for Deadlock yet. We will update this page as soon as more information is available regarding the playtest end date.

That’s everything you need to know about the early access playtest for Deadlock.

Source