By Deadlock–the MOBA that Valve notably did not recognize after months of leaked videos, only to acknowledge its presence last summer–has been gradually allowing more players into its ongoing closed alpha test. However, it now appears that there might be a more secret alpha test, with even scarcer invitations, following a slip from a streamer.
YouTube streamer Deathy was broadcasting Deadlock on his YouTube channel when he mistakenly launched the incorrect version of the game. Instead of the usual alpha test that viewers had become accustomed to, the game loaded with extra characters–a lineup of 40 available characters instead of the standard alpha’s 30 playable heroes–along with revamped designs for some of those 30 heroes.
Among the characters not available in the typical alpha test are a bellhop-themed character called Doorman, a nod to Mary Shelley’s renowned creature referred to as Frank, and a character named Punkgoat whose art is a duplicate of an existing character, Shiv. Deathy stopped the stream and removed the archive upon realizing his mistake, but screenshots still found their way to the official Deadlock subreddit.
Deadlock is a 6v6 multiplayer shooter and MOBA–“multiplayer online battle arena”–developed by Valve. The official Steam page indicates that the game is “in early development with numerous temporary graphics and experimental gameplay” and that “access is presently restricted to friend invites through playtesters.”
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