Is Deadlock free to play?

Part-hero shooter and part-MOBA, Deadlock is the talk of the town in both genres at the moment. At this current stage, Valve’s new game remains in early development, with very little set in stone right now.

Is Deadlock free to play?

Yes, Deadlock is free to play. However, you can’t simply download the game on Steam at this early stage of development.

Initially, the only way to play Deadlock was to be invited by Valve. This led to an awkward stage where Deadlock was simultaneously one of the most-played games on Steam and not yet officially announced.

Now, you can play Deadlock by receiving an invite from a friend who already has the game. If you’re not sure, check the game’s Steam store page, where you can see which of your friends have access to Deadlock. Drop them a message for an invite!

Will Deadlock stay free to play?

Looking at Valve’s track record over the years, it’s highly likely that Deadlock will remain free to play upon its full release.

In the multiplayer space, Valve has transitioned to a free-to-play model in games like Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike 2. It has been extremely successful for the studio, with all three remaining extremely popular on Steam. There is no reason to believe that Deadlock will deviate from this.

Does Deadlock have microtransactions?

Right now, Deadlock does not have any microtransactions. But we all saw the success of hats in Team Fortress 2. We all know how popular weapon skins are in Counter-Strike 2. And most of Dota 2‘s Heroes have purchasable cosmetic skins, too.

It’s a familiar business model for Valve. In the long run, I certainly wouldn’t bet against Deadlock having cosmetic microtransactions, especially given the variety of Heroes available in the game.

If it does happen, it likely won’t be for a while, though. On Deadlock‘s store page, Valve admits that the game has “lots of temporary art” at the moment, so it would be a surprise to see any cosmetic microtransactions up for sale any time soon.