Deadlock is a hero shooter that has both what exists and what does not exist.That is, we all see it and talk about it, and a lot of people play it and maybe play it at the moment, but Valve is adamantly refusing that everyone is paying attention to it.It is much less something that is currently under development, leaving it in a suspended state, unlike, for example, a figurative cat in a box. But as Valve applied for a trademark for the name, there are no slightly less deadlocks than did not exist yesterday.

Trademark words come from Twitter user Gabe Follower, the guy who got all of us excited for the deadlock and advised us to be excited about it. A few weeks after saying he had to stop talking "completely" about deadlocks, he obviously changed his mind, but to be fair, he's talking here about trademark filing, not video games, so definitely that doesn't count.

In any case, the deadlock trademark application is intended to cover "online computer games" and various related matters, in particular "organization of competitions related to video games"."This application has been accepted by the USPTO, but it has not yet been approved.

So, what does it mean ' Not necessarily much: Valve filed a trademark application for Neon Prime in 2022.It was rumored that this is a new game.That application is now "dead" in the USPTO's words, meaning "rejected, rejected, or invalidated" and is therefore no longer active. But there are also rumors that Deadlock is actually Neon Prime under the new name.Meanwhile, Neon Prime was reportedly originally known as the Citadel way in 2019. In other words, the project could have been going on for years, and Valve has been switching names to keep us on our toes.

The only thing I can say for sure at this point is what associate editor Ted Litchfield said last week: This is getting ridiculous. As long as Valve refuses to admit that something is happening (frankly, that's a very good thing), we may be doing it

and it may not happen. Valve has built a complete game, rolled out to technically closed beta testing, decided on "nah" and shut everything down without publicly admitting that something is cooked up first While most major gaming companies struggle to reasonably inform their fans (albeit with carefully managed and company-approved communications), Valve has a lot of work to do. It's like this impenetrable monolith, whipping them occasionally when the mood strikes. The commitment to bits is undeniably impressive, but sometimes they really want to tell you what they're doing.

It is possible to properly examine the deadlock on 6 May. Valve's last next big thing, Half-Life: Alyx, was officially announced at the 2019 Game Awards. Of course, there is also the possibility that Valve will keep the wall of silence until it wins the game award in 2025. In any case, we will keep you posted.