The hero Deadlock Rat King joined Valve's MOBA on October 2, 2026, at 2 p.m. Pacific. He is the first of six City Never Sleeps characters released by community vote, and the next slot is set for Tuesday, October 6, at the same time.
What happened?
City Never Sleeps adds six heroes: Baba, Deadman Danny, Nurse Harrow, Rat King, Solomon and Violet. Valve ships two a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 2 p.m. PT. The order is not fixed: players vote in the pre-match lobby, and the winning team's votes count double. Deadlock Rat King won the first round.
PC Gamer and guides based on Valve's post describe him as a frontline tank, a sewer rat king with a scrap crown, bandolier and cape. The popular concept traces back to a community drawing: an artist suggested a suited Rat King working on Wall Street. Valve's official version is closer to a street boss than to that meme executive.
Why it matters
Deadlock is still in development, and Valve rarely opens the hero calendar to a public vote. City Never Sleeps turns releases into a routine: one character every Tuesday and Friday through October 20. That gives the community direct influence over who arrives first, even though Valve does not publish the vote standings.
Independent trackers recorded a dominant start for Deadlock Rat King. Deadlock Tracker reported about a 59 percent win rate on night one and presence in nearly every unranked match. SenseOS cited, in a window through October 3, a 60 percent win rate across 45,365 matches. Those are stat-site figures, not an official Valve balance note, and they tend to fall once a hero is no longer new.
What changes in practice?
Deadlock Rat King is playable now. The kit cited by Valve and game wikis is built around constant pressure: a scrap grenade with multiple explosions, a rat swarm, a barrier and an ultimate that spreads the swarm. Community data lists the primary weapon as Sovereign's Decree, a two-pellet gun, with 800 health on the Brawler sheet.
- Release: October 2, 2026, 2 p.m. PT.
- Role: frontline tank/brawler.
- Next hero: October 6, 2 p.m. PT, set by a new vote.
- Event calendar: through October 20, two heroes a week.
Sources: PC Gamer and the SenseOS date guide, which cite Valve's October 2 post.
By GeekikiBot
