If you’ve been grinding the new Valve MOBA Deadlock in its closed playtest phase, you’ve probably wanted to bring your squad along for ranked queues or casual 5v5 matches. Figuring out how to invite someone to the Deadlock playtest doesn’t have to be a confusing process, even with the strict access rules Valve has put in place during the initial testing period. I’ve tested every method of sending invites over the past three months of play, so I can walk you through exactly what works, what doesn’t, and what to do if your invite gets rejected.
How to Invite Someone to the Deadlock Playtest: Official Eligibility Rules First
First, you can’t send invites to just anyone, no matter how many hours you’ve logged in the game. Valve only grants invite privileges to players who meet specific criteria, and those rules change periodically as they scale up testing. You must have an active Deadlock playtest account in good standing to send invites, no exceptions. If you got access via a streamer drop or a friend’s invite, you still qualify as long as you haven’t been banned for toxicity or cheating.
Each player gets a limited number of invites per testing cycle, so don’t waste them on people who don’t actually play MOBA or team-based games. I’ve seen players burn all three of their initial invites on casual friends who never even downloaded the client, which left them unable to bring their regular queue partners in later. Before you send any invites, confirm you meet all of the following requirements first:
- Active Deadlock playtest access with at least 5 hours of match time logged
- No active account restrictions, including temporary chat bans or match cooldowns
- Valid, non-limited Steam account in the same region as the person you’re inviting
- Unused invite tokens available in your in-game notifications tab
If you’re missing any of these, you won’t see the invite option in your client, so don’t waste time troubleshooting until you check these boxes. The 5-hour match requirement is new as of the last playtest update, so even if you had access for months, you won’t be able to send invites if you only spent time in the practice range.
Step-by-Step Process to Send a Deadlock Playtest Invite
Once you confirm you meet all eligibility rules, sending an invite only takes a minute, as long as you have your friend’s correct Steam information. First, open the Deadlock client and navigate to the main menu. Click the “Invite Friends to Playtest” button in the top right corner, right next to your friend list icon. If you don’t see this button, that means you don’t have any unused invites left, or you don’t meet the eligibility requirements to send invites yet.
Next, enter your friend’s exact Steam profile name or 17-digit Steam ID in the search bar. Don’t use their display name, since those can be duplicated and you might send an invite to the wrong person by mistake. I made that mistake once early on, sending an invite to a random player with the same display name as my roommate, and I lost one of my three initial invites for no reason. Double check the profile picture and account level to make sure you’ve selected the right person before moving forward.
Once you select the correct profile, click “Send Invite” and confirm the prompt. Your friend will get a notification in their Steam account and an email (if they have email notifications enabled) with instructions to claim their playtest access. They have 72 hours to claim the invite before it expires, so send them a quick message to let them know it’s coming so they don’t miss the window. If they don’t claim it in time, the invite token will be returned to your account automatically, so you don’t have to worry about wasting it if they’re busy.
Common Issues That Break Deadlock Playtest Invites (And How to Fix Them)
Even if you follow every step correctly, sometimes invites don’t go through, or your friend can’t claim their access. Most of these issues have simple fixes, so you don’t have to reach out to Valve support right away. The most common problem is regional restrictions. Deadlock playtest access is region-locked during the initial testing phase, so you can’t send an invite to someone in a region that hasn’t been opened for testing yet. For example, if you’re in North America and your friend is in Southeast Asia, your invite will be rejected automatically, even if you have unused invites.
The second most common issue is limited Steam accounts. If your friend has a Steam account that they haven’t spent at least $5 on, it’s marked as a limited account, and it can’t claim Deadlock playtest invites. Ask them to confirm their account is non-limited before you send the invite, to avoid wasting a token. They can easily fix this by adding $5 to their Steam wallet or buying a cheap game on the store.
Another frequent issue is that your friend already has a pending or rejected playtest application. If they signed up for the playtest on the official website and got rejected, or have a pending application, they won’t be able to claim an invite until that application is processed. Ask them to cancel any pending applications first, then resend the invite if it fails the first time. If the invite still doesn’t work, wait 24 hours and try again, as sometimes there are delays in the system processing access requests.
Tips to Get More Deadlock Playtest Invites For Your Squad
If you ran out of invite tokens and want to bring more friends into the game, there are a few legitimate ways to earn extra invites, no scams required. First, play regularly and participate in official playtest feedback surveys. Valve sends extra invite tokens to players who submit detailed feedback about bugs, balance issues, and quality of life changes, since they want players who are invested in improving the game to bring in other committed players. I earned two extra invites last month after submitting a detailed report about a match-making bug that was placing new players against top-ranked testers.
You can also earn invites by participating in official Deadlock community events, like weekly custom game tournaments hosted on the official Discord server. Winners of these tournaments usually get 1-2 extra invite tokens, plus in-game cosmetic rewards. Even if you don’t win, just participating and giving feedback after the event can sometimes earn you extra invites, as the community team rewards active players regularly.
Stay away from third-party sites that claim to sell or give away free Deadlock playtest invites, by the way. Most of these are scams that will steal your Steam account information, or sell you fake codes that don’t work. Valve never distributes playtest invites outside of official channels, so any code you get from a third party is almost certainly a scam. Don’t risk losing your own playtest access by buying or selling invites, as Valve bans anyone caught violating the playtest terms of service immediately, no exceptions.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to invite someone to the Deadlock playtest is pretty straightforward once you know the eligibility rules and common pitfalls to avoid. Take a minute to confirm you have unused invites and your friend meets all access requirements before you hit send, and you’ll be queuing up with your full squad in no time. If you run into issues that you can’t fix on your own, you can submit a support ticket through the in-game help menu, and Valve’s playtest support team usually responds within 48 hours. Now go bring your friends in, and don’t forget to report any bugs you find to help make the game better for full launch.