If you’ve been grinding ranked matches in Valve’s new 5v5 hero shooter Deadlock, you’ve probably had a friend hit you up asking to join your lobby, only to hit a confusing access denied error. I’ve had at least three friends text me panicking because they couldn’t join my lobby last month, so I tested every method to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Figuring out how to give friend access to Deadlock doesn’t have to be a headache, even if you’re still learning the ins and outs of Steam’s game sharing and invite systems. This guide breaks down every working method, plus fixes for the most common issues that stop your friends from joining even after you send an invite.
How to Give Friend Access to Deadlock via Steam Direct Invite
The fastest way to get a friend into your Deadlock match is using Steam’s built-in direct invite system, which works for both casual and unranked private lobbies. Before you send an invite, make sure your friend is already on your Steam friends list — you can’t send invites to users you haven’t added yet, even if you know their profile name. You’ll also want to confirm that both you and your friend have the Steam overlay enabled for Deadlock, as disabled overlays are the top cause of invites not showing up in-game.
To send an invite, first launch Deadlock and load into the main menu. If you’re creating a private lobby, click the “Create Lobby” button on the play screen, then click the empty plus sign icons next to your player slot on the right side of the screen. A pop-up with your full Steam friends list will appear, and you can select the name of the friend you want to invite. They’ll get a notification in both their Steam client and their in-game menu, and clicking accept will drop them directly into your lobby. If your friend hasn’t downloaded Deadlock yet, the invite will automatically prompt them to install the free game first before joining.
You can also send invites outside of Deadlock if you’re still queuing for a match. Just open your Steam friends list, right click your friend’s name, hover over the “Invite to Game” option, and select Deadlock from the drop down menu. This method works even if you’re still in the game’s loading screen, so you can send invites while you’re waiting for the game to boot up to save time.
Alternative Method: Use Steam Family Sharing for Permanent Access
If you have a friend or family member you play Deadlock with regularly, direct invites can get tedious if you’re joining lobbies multiple times a week. Steam’s Family Sharing tool lets you give a friend permanent access to your entire Steam library, including Deadlock, so they can launch the game on their own any time without needing an invite from you first. This method is perfect for roommates or close friends you play with every night, as it eliminates the need to send a new invite every time you want to play together.
Setting up Family Sharing for Deadlock only takes a few minutes, as long as both you and your friend have access to the same physical device for a one-time setup step:
- Open your Steam settings, then navigate to the Family tab on the left sidebar of the settings menu
- Check the box that says “Authorize Library Sharing on this computer” to enable sharing for your account
- Select your friend’s account from the list of accounts that have logged into your device, or send them a sharing request directly to their Steam email address
- Have your friend accept the request, then search for Deadlock in their own Steam library to install the game to their device
There are a few small limitations to keep in mind with this method. First, if you’re playing another game in your Steam library at the same time your friend tries to launch Deadlock, they’ll get a notification asking them to close the game, or you’ll get a prompt to end your session. You can work around this by buying Deadlock on their account for free, since the game is free to play for all users as of its latest public release. Second, ranked competitive play is restricted for shared accounts to prevent smurfing, so if your friend wants to climb the ranked ladder, they’ll need to download Deadlock directly to their own account anyway.
Common Deadlock Access Errors and How to Fix Them
Even if you follow all the steps correctly, you might run into a random error that stops your friend from accessing your Deadlock lobby. Most of these errors are easy to fix in less than a minute, no technical skills required. The first error I see most often is invites not showing up for your friend even after you send them multiple times. If this happens, have both of you restart your Steam clients first — small background glitches often block invite notifications, and a quick restart fixes this 90% of the time. If that doesn’t work, send the invite via Steam chat instead of the in-game menu, as chat invites are less likely to get lost.
Another common error is an access denied message even after your friend accepts the invite. This usually happens for one of two reasons: either Deadlock’s servers are having an outage, or your friend has an active VAC ban on their account. You can check the official Deadlock server status page to confirm if servers are down, and if they are, you’ll just have to wait a few minutes for Valve to fix the issue. If servers are running fine, ask your friend to verify their Deadlock game files via their Steam library, as corrupted game files can also trigger false access denied errors.
If you’re using Family Sharing and your friend can’t see Deadlock in their library, first confirm that you haven’t hit Steam’s 5 account limit for Family Sharing. You can only share your library with 5 different accounts total, so if you’ve already shared with 5 other people, you’ll need to revoke access for someone you don’t play with anymore to add a new friend. You should also double check that Deadlock is still marked as shareable in your Steam library settings, as rare game updates sometimes temporarily disable sharing features until Valve pushes a small patch.
Best Practices for Sharing Deadlock Access Safely
Sharing access to any game on Steam comes with small risks, so it’s important to follow a few simple rules to keep your account safe. First, never share your Steam account password with anyone, even if they’re a close friend. The built-in invite and Family Sharing tools work without giving anyone your login info, so there’s no reason to share your password for any reason. Valve’s anti-cheat system will ban your account permanently if someone you share your password with uses cheats while playing Deadlock, and you won’t be able to appeal the ban even if you didn’t use the cheats yourself.
If you’re sending invites to people you met in random Deadlock lobbies, only do so if you’re comfortable playing with them long term. You never know who is on the other side of the screen, so avoid sharing any personal information like your address or phone number via in-game chat, even if you’ve played a few matches together. You can block and remove anyone from your friends list at any time if they start acting toxic or make you uncomfortable.
If you no longer want a friend to have access to your Deadlock library via Family Sharing, you can revoke their access at any time from your Steam Family settings. You don’t have to give them a reason, and they won’t get a notification that you removed their access unless they try to launch a game from your library later. It’s a good idea to review your Family Sharing list every few months to remove access for people you don’t play with anymore, to reduce the risk of your account being compromised.
At the end of the day, playing Deadlock with friends is way more fun than queuing solo, and you don’t have to jump through a dozen hoops to get them into your lobby. Whether you’re sending a one-time invite for a quick casual match or setting up family sharing for a roommate you play with every night, knowing how to give friend access to Deadlock will save you tons of time that you can spend grinding for wins instead of troubleshooting access errors. If you run into a problem we didn’t cover here, you can always reach out to Steam support for further help, but most common issues are fixed with a quick restart or double check of your sharing settings.