Deadlock changes constantly. This page collects the updates that changed the game the most, newest first. For the most recent patch notes in detail, see the latest patch.
2026
City Never Sleeps (September 29, 2026)
The second major update of 2026, and one of the largest ever:
- Six heroes, released one at a time on Tuesdays and Fridays from October 2: Rat King, Baba, Solomon, Nurse Harrow, Deadman Danny and Violet. See City Never Sleeps heroes.
- Map rework, with Steam Vents that grant invisibility and healing while you stand on them.
- Haunts replaced the old jungle camps, with many new types. See jungle camps.
- Tough crates that need a heavy melee, and hidden healing snacks.
- Golden Statues became Buff Containers, and Sinner’s Sacrifice now gives the same bonuses.
- The Broker, a merchant that opened about 30 minutes into a match and traded high-tier items for Corrupted versions. Corrupted items had boosted stats plus one random drawback, such as lower max health or fire rate, scaled by the item’s tier. The Broker was removed from Standard and Ranked on October 2, and Corrupted items left Street Brawl on October 4.
- Hero voting moved into the pre-game lobby.
The new Ranked mode (July 30, 2026)
A matchmaking overhaul that split play into Standard (unranked, no limits on party size or skill gaps) and a new Ranked mode: 60 Standard wins to qualify, 8 calibration games, 11 ranks with six subranks each, solo or duo only, and three hero bans per game. The first season started that day. See how ranked works.
Hero bans (January 30, 2026)
Ranked games gained a hero banning phase.
Old Gods, New Blood (January 22, 2026)
- Six heroes: Silver, Rem, Graves, Apollo, Celeste and Venator, released two a week in the order players voted for.
- Street Brawl, the 4v4 best-of-five mode with drafted items.
- Rebuilt bases and Patrons, with new bosses, troopers and base defences. The Hidden King and the Archmother were introduced as the two Patrons. See the Patron.
- Hero priority tokens and a first-win-of-the-day bonus for hero votes.
- New items Ballistic Enchantment and Recharging Rush.
- Channelled abilities can no longer be cancelled during their cast delay without going on cooldown.
- A new HUD with a Mid Boss timer, a field of view slider and a custom crosshair editor.
2025
Six heroes and the Hideout (August 18, 2025)
- Six heroes: Mina, Billy, Paige, The Doorman, Victor and Drifter, released one every other day.
- The Hideout replaced the old menu: a room you walk around, with terminals for playing, watching and learning, and a practice area. See every game mode.
- Hero voting began: every game earns a vote on which hero unlocks next.
- Hero Labs was removed, along with its experimental heroes. The hero once called Priest was renamed Venator.
Corner boost nerf (October 2, 2025)
Corner boosting lost 20% of its speed. It still works; see advanced movement tech.
Shop rework (May 8, 2025)
- Item slots became universal, and the total dropped from 16 to 12.
- Owning a component now discounts the item it builds into.
- Tier bonuses depend on how much you’ve spent in each category. See build theory.
- Players start with 400 souls, teleporters are open from the start, and the losing team earns up to 25% more souls.
- Shields were renamed Barriers.
Heavy melee cancel nerf (April 17, 2025)
Cancelling a heavy melee with an item now keeps much less of the lunge’s momentum. See animation canceling.
The map rework (February 25, 2025)
- The map went from four lanes to three, with new layouts, camps and Mid Boss area.
- An Explore Map mode let players roam an empty city to practise movement.
- Troopers no longer need to be last-hit for nearby players to earn their souls, and denied souls now split 50/50.
- Out-of-combat sprint speed doubled.
- Servers moved from 60 to 64 tick, and NVIDIA DLSS arrived.
Four heroes (January 17, 2025)
Holliday, Vyper, Calico and Sinclair joined the roster.
2024
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| November 21, 2024 | Matchmaking rework |
| October 24, 2024 | Hero Labs added: experimental heroes during scheduled hours |
| October 10, 2024 | The first ranked mode |
| September 26, 2024 | Custom matches added to the Play menu |
| September 12, 2024 | Matchmaking open 24/7; new minimap and hero icons |
| August 29, 2024 | Wall jumping and ropes added; buildings resized so heroes can reach the rooftops |
| August 23, 2024 | Valve officially announces Deadlock, and players may share footage for the first time |
| August 15, 2024 | Shiv added |
| August 1, 2024 | Viscous added; Oceania servers |
| July 4, 2024 | Asia and South America servers |
| June 27, 2024 | Hero-based matchmaking rating |
| June 20, 2024 | European servers; new items including Colossus and Melee Charge |
| May 13, 2024 | Real matchmaking replaces “start when 12 players queue” |
Before May 2024, Deadlock was a small, private playtest, and patches weren’t documented publicly in the same way.
How often Deadlock is patched
By early October 2026, Deadlock had already had more than 50 updates that year: major content drops, balance patches and hotfixes. Balance changes usually land several times a month, which is why every guide on this site shows the patch it was last checked against.
Frequently asked questions
When was Deadlock announced?
Valve officially announced Deadlock on August 23, 2024 and lifted the ban on sharing gameplay footage the same day. Before that it was a private playtest.
What was the biggest Deadlock update?
There have been several. The February 25, 2025 map rework cut the map from four lanes to three; the May 8, 2025 shop rework reshaped how items work; and City Never Sleeps on September 29, 2026 rebuilt the map again, replaced the jungle with Haunts and added six heroes.
When did Street Brawl come out?
January 22, 2026, in the Old Gods, New Blood update, alongside six new heroes and a rework of the bases and Patrons.
How often is Deadlock patched?
Very often. The game had more than 50 updates in 2026 alone by early October, from big content drops to small hotfixes, with balance patches several times a month.
Numbers on this page are checked against the game and the community-run Deadlock Wiki. Spotted something a patch changed? Tell us in #site-feedback on our Discord.