New Valve shooter Deadlock is still in invite-only alpha, but it’s already got “very blatant” cheaters

Deadlock, Valve’s new shooter/MOBA hybrid, already has a problem with cheaters, which is presumably giving fans of Valve’s other shooters delicious schadenfreude and/or terror-filled flashbacks.

Last week, footage of players utilizing some of Deadlock’s first cheats emerged. In the video, two players can be seen taking advantage of aim-botting and what appear to be bullets that curve around corners. An innocent player, reacting to that footage, notes that the cheaters are “very blatant,” and seemingly “do not care at all” that their wicked ways are so obvious to anyone watching.

Taking a look at deadlock cheaters from r/Steam

It’s not an ideal situation, not least because Deadlock is a game in an invite-only alpha state that’s so early Valve has had to tighten restrictions against stat-tracking sites. It makes you wonder what the cheaters have to gain – with matchmaking and MMR changes also on the horizon, it’s not like winning a bunch of games now will offer long-term benefit.

Hopefully, the presence of these cheats will encourage Valve to step up its anti-cheat efforts, although long-term fans will know that’s not necessarily a given. Counter-Strike has relatively robust methods when it comes to detecting and punishing cheaters, but fans of Team Fortress 2 will know that that kind of attention isn’t a given. Plagued by botting for years, TF2 is a harrowing tale of what can happen to a game once Valve slows down its update efforts. You’ve got to assume that Deadlock is in a somewhat safer state than that given its relative age, but I’m sure it’s enough to get some fans breaking out in cold sweats.

Look, if you’re that keen to win, just play as Deadlock’s best hero, who’s so powerful they come with a 93% pick rate.