Deadlock Patch Notes: City Never Sleeps and 2026 Updates
Deadlock patch notes are Valve's official record of everything that changes in the game between builds. The 6v6 hero shooter MOBA is still in closed beta, and its patch notes appear on the official forums, the Steam page, and in the in-game News menu.
The latest Deadlock patch notes point to one of the biggest updates the game has ever received. Here is a reverse-chronological rundown of the most recent changes, from the City Never Sleeps major update to the newest heroes and balance passes.
City Never Sleeps: Deadlock's Biggest Update
On September 29, 2026, Valve shipped a major update called City Never Sleeps, and it is widely described as the biggest Deadlock patch yet. The update delivered a full map rework, six new heroes, and a long list of quality-of-life and accessibility changes.
The jungle was redesigned from scratch, and neutral camps were renamed Haunts and reworked with new behaviors and models. New breakables and a set of new permanent buffs arrived alongside the visual overhaul.
The patch also added a limited-time shop, a voice line player menu in the Hideout, and new settings and accessibility options. The six new heroes were slated to be released through community voting over the following weeks.
The New Heroes, Released by Vote
City Never Sleeps introduced six heroes who join the roster through community voting. Two heroes release each week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. PST, and voting now happens in the pregame lobby, where winning teams' votes count double.
The October releases began with Nurse Harrow on October 20. Her kit includes Leech Therapy, a jar of leeches that drains enemy health and energy. Violet arrived on October 16, wielding Living Ink plus abilities like Flow State, Still Life, and Abstract Landscape.
Deadman Danny joined on October 13, a rocket-launcher hero who flies with the Chimera Mk1 and fires Strix Salvo missiles. Solomon, released October 9, is a chess-themed strategist with Setup Bishop, Kingside Knight, and Rook Battery. Baba, released October 6, uses Threadsap yarn to steal spirit, and Rat King arrived on October 2. Priority tokens and campaign posters returned with the voting, letting players campaign for their pick.
Recent Balance Changes
A follow-up patch known as City Never Sleeps Patch 3 targeted the newest heroes and items. Radiant Regeneration had its Spirit scaling reduced from 0.04 to 0.035.
Baba received several nerfs in that pass. Her Spirit Resistance scaling dropped from 0.12 to 0.1, and she now carries a -7% Base Bullet Resistance. Threadsap's Spirit reduction on enemies now ends when Baba dies, and its cooldown rose from 26 to 28 seconds. Granny Long Legs cooldown increased from 30 to 32 seconds, and repeated light melees in the air now have diminishing forward momentum.
The September 16 patch adjusted comeback mechanics, reducing comeback bounties and sharing comeback souls with the lowest-net-worth players. It also increased Guardian and Walker soul bounties and adjusted the respawn curve. Parrying now pauses reloads and cancels dashes, and the values of slow effects were reduced globally.
The Map Rework: Haunts, Districts, and New Mechanics
The City Never Sleeps map overhaul turned the lanes into distinct New York districts, from Uptown and Time Square to Greenwich, Central Park, York, and Chinatown. The neutral camps became Haunts with new looks and behaviors, including Specimen, gutter ghouls, barrel mimics, stage hands, and festival spirits.
Several areas now carry unique mechanics. The Chinatown bell tower offers a concentrated soul hotspot, but the bell rings loudly while you collect. The Sunken Plaza drains your stamina while keeping you hidden from the outer world.
Golden boons were redesigned into owls holding books, with ten different permanent buffs in total. New tough crates require a heavy melee to break open, and steam vents grant invisibility and health regeneration. Healing snacks scattered around the map let observant players heal up in a pinch.
The Broker, Corrupted Items, and Ranked Changes
City Never Sleeps also introduced the Broker, a limited-time merchant who sells corrupted items. His first shipment arrives around the 30-minute mark, with additional items roughly every 15 minutes.
Corrupted items upgrade high-tier gear with strong stats but assign random negative attributes. The negatives are the same for all players in a given game. The Broker was always meant to be temporary, and corrupted items were removed from Street Brawl in an October 4 patch.
The same period brought Ranked changes, with the Ranked season extended to November 5. On August 2, rank points per game rose by 20 percent from 250 to 300, and the maximum win-streak bonus increased from +75 to +90 at five wins.
UI, Accessibility, and Quality of Life
The major update packed in a huge amount of UI and quality-of-life work. Health bars, the kill feed, and the shop all received overhauls, including a popular-items tab that uses live player data.
Accessibility options grew significantly, with enemy UI color choices, voice-over subtitles, auto-move, and auto-mantle. Players can also share reticle and keybind settings through codes.
New tools include bot recording, a combat log, a speed graph, a DPS meter, and a dialogue player that lets you browse more than 10,000 new voice lines. Report feedback improved as well, with players notified when action is taken on a report.
Earlier 2026 Updates Worth Knowing
Deadlock spent much of 2026 reshaping its core systems before City Never Sleeps. A January 22 major update added the new Street Brawl game mode, redesigned the Troopers, and renamed the Patrons to The Hidden King and The Archmother.
On June 30, Valve reworked the Urn and added a new objective called Unstable Rift. The July 30 patch brought a matchmaking rework and a new Ranked mode, while a January 30 update added hero banning.
These mid-year changes show how much of the current Deadlock experience is new. Each one landed through the same patch notes channel, building toward the larger City Never Sleeps rework.
How to Read Deadlock Patch Notes
Deadlock's official patch notes are posted on the official forums, the Steam page, and the in-game News menu. You can open the News menu in the Hideout with the N key or through the Hideout's computer terminal.
From August 1 to December 6, 2024, Valve shipped a major update every two weeks. On January 8, 2025, the studio dropped that schedule to allow more time for testing and internal development. Update times are tracked in Pacific Standard Time.
The game is still in closed beta, and Valve has said future work includes hero progression and customization, plus reworks to the Midboss, Guardians, and Walkers. Item reworks and new game modes are also in testing (unconfirmed).