Valve is reportedly testing a new third-person hero shooter called Deadlock

Rumors about the next game project from Valve constantly make the rounds online in various forms. However, it looks like there is one rumor of an upcoming new Valve game that is picking up a lot of steam (pun intended) this week. Reports and screenshots of this alleged game have found their way on social media.

YouTube creator and Valve follower Tyler McVicker (via Eurogamer) has reported the game, which he says has been in development since 2018, is currently called Deadlock. The game, which he says was previously called Citadel and Neon Prime, is a third-person team hero shooter with some tower defense elements as well, according to him.

McVicker says the game was originally supposed to be part of Valve's Half-Life universe but has since evolved into its own original title with no Half-Life connections and with a mix of sci-fi and fantasy elements. He added that Valve has been holding closed alpha testing of Deadlock with hundreds of players and claims that an official announcement could be made soon.

X (formerly Twitter) user "GabeFollower" has some more alleged info about Deadlock. He writes:

6 vs 6 battling on huge map with 4 lanes. Usable abilities and items. Tower defense mechanics. Fantasy setting mixed with steampunk. Magicians, weird creatures and robots. Fast travel using floating rails, similar to Bioshock Infinite

He also posted some alleged screenshots of the game, featuring one of the hero characters, Grey Talon, who is seen using a sci-fi version of a bow.

It looks like one or more of the closed alpha testers decided to break some NDAs, which is why we are now hearing about Deadlock and seeing screenshots online right now. The big question is, "When will Valve officially announce Deadlock?". If the company truly is testing the game with hundreds of people, it's possible it could be revealed very soon, perhaps as part of the Summer Game Fest streaming event on June 7.