Valve has released the first major update of 2026 for its invite-only MOBA Deadlock, titled Old Gods New Blood. The patch introduces six new heroes, a fast-paced 4v4 game mode called Street Brawl, and significant visual and gameplay overhauls. It also includes quality-of-life improvements and new items, boosting player engagement.
Deadlock's Old Gods New Blood update arrived on January 23, 2026, marking the game's first major patch of the year. Available now on Steam for invite-only players, it adds six new heroes—Silver, Rem, Graves, Apollo, Celeste, and Venator—who will roll out two per week starting January 26 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time on Mondays and Tuesdays. Players can influence the release order by earning votes through matches, with the first daily win granting four extra votes. A new priority token system will help players select heroes they have performed well with previously.
Silver is a shapeshifter, Rem focuses on sleep and crowd control with a pajama-clad design, Graves acts as a necromancer summoner, Apollo is a high-skill duelist, Celeste features a pink and violet palette, and Venator is an accessible shooter emphasizing fundamentals. In-game sprays allow players to promote their votes during matches.
The standout addition is Street Brawl, a streamlined 4v4 best-of-five mode for quicker games lasting a few minutes per round. It equalizes resources across players, disables farming, and offers randomized item selections each round, including chances for enhanced or legendary items. This mode aims to teach combat mechanics to newcomers without standard macro strategy complexities.
Patrons receive a full redesign: the Hidden King and Archmother, polar opposites with thematic arenas and overhauled minions. Base defense mechanics change, with guardians unparriable, elevated shrines dealing burst damage and curses, and phased patron behaviors to make late-game pushes tougher and reduce snowballing.
Two new items debut: Ballistic Enchantment, which imbues abilities with increased range and grants weapon damage per hit, and Recharging Rush, which replenishes charges for abilities on significant weapon damage. Quality-of-life updates include a revamped post-game screen with detailed stats and adjusted MVP determination, reactive hero portraits, killstreak indicators, improved chat visuals, a settings search bar, and map enhancements like better lighting and textures.
The update follows a surprise surge in Domino's pizza orders near Valve's office, which the community interpreted as a sign of impending news. SteamDB reports concurrent players jumped to 67,668 the day after release, surpassing the October 24, 2024, patch that introduced experimental heroes in Hero Labs. This content-rich approach continues Valve's strategy to evolve Deadlock's core experience.
