Despite being in early access, Deadlock’s character vote has got the burgeoning player base excited to dictate the order of new arrivals. As part of the Old Gods, New Blood update, Valve’s Hero Shooter/MOBA is adding half a dozen new characters and letting players pick their favorites.
- The Escapist recaps
- New Deadlock characters
- How to vote and full character release schedule
- Ask The Escapist
- References
We’re now down to just one left, with Apollo arriving last.
Waiting for the reveal? Why not check out everything coming in Overwatch Season 1 (yep, that’s right – no ‘2’, and just Season 1) for your Hero Shooter fix?
Update: The fifth character unlocked is Celeste, and she debuted on February 9. That means Apollo follows on Thursday!
The Escapist recaps
- Deadlock is adding six new characters.
- Players will get access to two per week, but they’re being rolled out according to player voting.
- The latest character is Graves, but the next one is being revealed on February 5, 2026.
New Deadlock characters
There are six new Deadlock characters to unlock, and we’ve seen five so far – with Celeste the most recent.
Here’s every Deadlock character being added, and their description courtesy of Valve’s site:
- Apollo: “Finesse. Mobility. A cut above.”
Celeste: “Performer. Disruptive. Dazzling.”Graves: “Morbiod. Area Denial. Necromancer.”Rem: “Helpful. Tiny. Zzz.”Silver: “Feral. Hot Mess. Transformation.”Venator: “Devout. Arms Expert. Tactical.”
How to vote and full character release schedule
To vote, you’ll need access to Deadlock (which you can get by getting a Steam friend to invite you).
Once that’s done, you need to play a Standard Match or 4×4 Street Brawl. You’ll get a Vote after a match, but a victory will net you FIVE votes.
Head to the table in your hideout with the ballot box, and vote for your favorite character. All six characters will arrive eventually, so you’re only voting on the order.
As for the schedule, here’s what to expect – we’ll update this page as new Deadlock characters are released:
- Monday, January 26 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET – Rem Unlocked
- Thursday, January 29 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET – Graves Unlocked
- Monday, February 2 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET – Silver Unlocked
- Thursday, February 5 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET – Venator Unlocked
- Monday, February 9 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET – Celeste Unlocked
- Thursday, February 12 at 2PM PST/10PM GMT/11PM CET
Ask The Escapist
It is, but you’ll need a Steam invite from a friend to play it for now. Valve’s upcoming title is still in closed beta.
Despite being accessible only via Steam referral, the game reached an all-time peak of over 171,000 players.
You’ll need a Steam account, as well as a friend already playing. They can invite you to join the playtest, but at the time of writing, there’s no other way to check the game out. It’s only available on PC.
References
- Old Gods, New Blood (Deadlock)
Last Updated On: Feb 9, 2026 11:07 pm CET