Is Deadlock finally getting ready to open its doors?
A technical detail spotted in the game's API revives the open-access question. Two years in, Deadlock is still invite-only.
The clue is thin but concrete: attentive players noticed the PLAYTEST tag disappearing from the game's API. On Steam, that marker separates closed-test products from normally published games. Its removal proves nothing on its own — but it's exactly the kind of cleanup that precedes a status change.
In practice, access hasn't changed: you still need an already-invited player to add you as a Steam friend. The process takes ten minutes if you know where to ask, and only limited Steam accounts — those that have never bought anything — are excluded. The barrier is more symbolic than real.
This half-secret does have a measurable effect, though. It keeps the player base stable around 77,000, far from public-launch peaks, and it blocks any official esports structure from forming.
As for the full release, it still has no date. The most common estimates point to late 2026, with no confirmation from Valve — a studio that has never made a habit of announcing before it's ready.