Ex-Valve developer shares Deadlock's funny anti-cheat is inspired by CS2

In a recent update, Deadlock introduced a new anti-cheat system that the community found funny as well as questionable. A former Valve developer has revealed that this update seems inspired by an idea originally considered for another Valve game—Counter-Strike 2. This unique twist on the anti-cheat system adds a layer of hilarity to a serious issue.

The following information was first reported by @GabeFollower on X, a reputable page for Valve and Steam-related leaks and information with over 190,000 followers.

Here's everything you need to know about the new Deadlock anti-cheat update.

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Ex-Valve developer reveals the Deadlock anti-cheat update was inspired by CS2

According to @sptonjohn, who claims to be an ex-Valve developer, the idea of the new anti-cheat update of Deadlock was originally pitched for CS2. The only difference was that instead of turning the cheater into a frog, they were turned into a chicken. He also revealed that this feature was called "FU Surprised Mode."

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What’s new in the 26-09-24 major update?

Valve has added many new things with the new update. It is live for the players who have access to the game.

New anti-cheat system

Deadlock's new anti-cheat system introduces a fun twist by allowing players to turn cheaters into frogs for the remainder of the match. When a player is caught cheating, the opponents can choose between instantly banning the cheater or transforming them into a frog for the rest of the match, before banning them later.

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New hero: Mirage

Mirage (Image via Valve)

A new hero has been added to the game and named after one of the most popular Counter-Strike maps, Mirage. He was a playable character in the Sandbox Mode using the in-game console before getting added to the main game. Here are his abilities:

• Tornado: Transform yourself into a tornado that travels forward, damaging enemies and lifting them up in the air. After emerging from the tornado you gain bullet evasion.
• Fire Beatles: Start launching fire beetles. Each beetle can be launched separately, stealing max health from enemies and applying bullet resist reduction. You cannot apply multiple scarabs to the same enemy. The health gain from hitting heroes is 3x as effective as against non-heroes.
• Djinn's Mark: Your shots apply an increasing multiplier on the target. When the multiplier on a target expires or you reach the max, it's consumed and the target suffers Spirit Damage and is briefly revealed on the map.
• Traveler: Target an ally or visible enemy hero on the minimap, then teleport to where they were when your channel started. After teleporting, you gain movement speed as well as fire rate until your next reload.

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There are various other minor tweaks in the abilities of all heroes in the game. A few items from The Curiosity Shop have been updated as well. There have been multiple major patches in the past few weeks. Yet, an official release date for the game is unknown.