Deadlock

Deadlock is ValvePublisherValve CorporationValve is the operator of the Steam platform and the publisher of Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and other long-running titles. Its anti-cheat (VAC) is user-mode and predates the kernel-anti-cheat era of competitive PC gaming.4 games in this family →'s hero shooter, a six-versus-six blend of third-person gunplay and MOBA lane mechanics built on the Source 2EngineSource / Source 2 (Valve)Valve's Source engine and its successor Source 2 power Valve's own first-party titles including Counter-Strike 2 (Source 2), Dota 2 (Source 2), and Half-Life: Alyx (Source 2). The original Source engine, modified, also powers Apex Legends (Respawn).5 games in this family → engine. It surfaced publicly in August 2024 and, as of mid-2026, is still in invite-only playtest rather than a formal 1.0 release: the Steam page is public, but playing requires an invite. It runs on Windows, with Linux and the Steam Deck working through Proton. The playtest peaked above 170,000 concurrent players while still invite-only.

Deadlock is not yet a finished, openly available game; access is by invite during the playtest. Its trust ask is light (user-mode VACAnti-cheatValve Anti-Cheat (VAC)Valve Anti-Cheat is Valve's user-mode anti-cheat, in operation since 2002. VAC has no kernel driver and no always-on resident process; detection is server-side and via user-mode pattern checks during a match. Supplemented by VAC Live (statistical pattern detection), VAC Net (machine learning), and Trust Factor matchmaking.4 games in this family →, no kernel driver), and it runs on Linux and the Steam Deck through Proton. If you hit a 'Valve Anti-Cheat challenge timed out' disconnect, it is usually a VPN or third-party security tool interfering with VAC rather than a ban.

Deadlock uses Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC), the same user-mode anti-cheat as Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2: no kernel driver, no boot-time component. Players see the standard VAC challenge on connect. The playtest client ships under its development codename, so the main Windows process is project8.exeProcessproject8.exeDeadlock game executable (development codename)Open plate → rather than a deadlock.exe; that is expected to change at release. Valve has described its current detection as an initial system tuned conservatively to avoid false positives, with a more extensive version in development. There is no separate user-installed anti-cheat driver to point to.

Cheating appeared during the invite-only test, and Valve's response became a talking point: alongside bans, a flagged cheater can be turned into a frog for the rest of the match, and matches containing a detected cheater do not count. Dexerto, GamingOnLinux, and Neowin covered the 'frog' system, which Valve shipped in a September 2024 update. Because Deadlock is unreleased, treat specifics as provisional; the anti-cheat posture is likely to evolve before 1.0.