Valve announced Deadlock’s “City Never Sleeps” update on September 29, 2026, and it is now live for players with access to the early development build. Valve’s simonne posted the announcement on Steam Community. The update follows the earlier “Old Gods New Blood” update and brings a massive visual update to the map and neutrals. It also adds six new heroes, HUD updates, numerous quality-of-life additions, and accessibility options.
A New Look for The Cursed Apple
Valve describes the update by saying, “The Cursed Apple is ever changing, and these streets are nothing like you remember.” The Cursed Apple is the game’s city. Deadlock is a multiplayer game in early development, and access is limited to friend invites via Valve’s playtesters. Players can read the complete patch list at playdeadlock.com/cityneversleeps.
Valve’s Early Development Roadmap
Valve’s development team says it has been “incredibly happy and surprised” with community support over the past couple of years. Building a multiplayer game is “very hard and risky”, so keeping it in players’ hands early helps shape what is fun. After that earlier update, Valve wanted to do more work on the core game before moving into polish phases such as updating older hero artwork. This year Valve worked on several things in parallel. Some work landed in today’s update, and other pieces were completed over the last few months. Those completed pieces include progression and hero/hideout customizations. Valve wants to adjust those systems based on feedback before the full release. Valve shared these comments in the same update announcement.
Counter-Strike 2, another Valve multiplayer shooter, has also received a recent update, which keeps Valve’s multiplayer releases active outside Deadlock. Marvel Rivals is another hero shooter, and its growing roster has made hero additions a familiar part of the genre.
Next Development Priorities
More speculative work includes large item redesigns and additions and alternate game modes. Valve is not certain these will release, though playtest results so far have been promising. Upcoming focus areas named by Valve include Midboss (both model and layout), Guardians, and Walkers. Hero remodels are planned to be worked on gradually in the near future for upcoming updates.
