Deadlock is an upcoming third-person shooter and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Valve. It’s currently running on an invite-only system with the release date to be announced.
Despite its alpha/beta closed testing state, Valve continuously pushes out updates for its playtesters, including new maps, items, and characters. The updates aren’t decided by the developers alone, though. Before every major update, Valve allows players to vote for a hero to join the roster. This mechanic was introduced on August 18 of 2025 during the Six New Heroes update where Mina, Billy, Paige, The Doorman, Victor, and Drifter were introduced. They didn’t give them out to players to try right out the gate. Valve staggered its release and gave testers the opportunity to vote on who they wanted in the game next with updates coming in every two days.
Votes are not simply given out for free either. You must complete or win a game to earn the right to vote. One vote per game played. After the voting was completed and all heroes were released, the patch notes revealed shocking numbers. Approximately 6 million votes were submitted in total and the highest number of votes by an individual player was 203.
As updates rolled out, the voting system also changed, but it remains an amazing marketing strategy for the game. Allowing players to have a role on upcoming features deepens player engagement by miles.
By extension, the same players voting are campaigning for their heroes on social media, during the games, and to friends. On X/Twitter, Deadlock players have added hashtags next to their display names to showcase their picks. Anyone who doesn’t have a clue what #VOTEHARROW or #VOTEVIOLET means will surely feed their curiosity and bite. Word-of-mouth is stronger than you might think compared to other marketing strategies.
The voting system builds a level of trust between players and the developers too. Players show them what they want and they give them what they want. It’s a win-win situation. Well, unless your pick is voted in last, but hey, it’s better late than never.
What do you think about Deadlock’s voting system? Would you rather developers release their own schedule untouched by players? Share your opinion in the comments below or talk to us in the Boss Rush Discord!
Featured Image: Valve (via Deadlock Intel)
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