Valve shooter Deadlock turns cheaters into defenseless frogs

Valve surprises with an unusual anti-cheat measure in its new MOBA shooter Deadlock: Caught cheaters are turned into frogs. The creative solution causes a stir and amusement and is reminiscent of a concept for Counter-Strike that was never implemented.

Plague of frogs instead of cheater trouble

In the world of online gaming, cheating is a ubiquitous nuisance. In its new MOBA hero shooter Deadlock, Valve is now taking an unusual approach to punish cheaters: they are quickly turned into frogs. How PC gamers reports, the developers have introduced an innovative and creative anti-cheat system with the latest update.

When the system detects a cheater, opponents have two options: they can ban the cheater immediately and end the game, or turn them into a helpless frog for the rest of the game. The second punishment mentioned is not only amusing, but also effective: the cheater jumps around with only 500 life points without being able to defend himself. Valve’s top secret game Deadlock (25 minutes of gameplay leaked)

From chicken to frog: an idea with a story

The idea of turning cheaters into animals is not entirely new. Burton Johnsey, a former developer of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, revealed in a post on Twitter that a similar concept called “FU Surprise Mode” was planned for CS:GO. There, however, fraudsters should be turned into chickens. Although this idea was never implemented, it now lives on in Deadlock in the form of frogs.

Valve emphasizes that the system is currently set to “conservative detection levels” while it works on a more comprehensive version 2 of the anti-cheat system. To ensure fair playing conditions, games in which a cheater is discovered will not be counted for the others.

New and improvements

In addition to the creative anti-cheat solution, the update also brings a breath of fresh air into the game: The new hero Mirage enriches the hero roster with wind-based skills and promises to be a versatile option. Deadlock, which combines elements of hero shooters and MOBAs, has been in testing since 2023. With a peak of over 100,000 concurrent players in August 2024, the game shows great potential even before its official release.