Valve says Deadlock is still too unfinished to release publicly, but has hero cosmetics and new game modes in the works

Deadlock's massive new update isn't a sign of an imminent public release, according to the MOBA's first proper development update. The invite-only game continues to grow in scope and polish, but Valve says there's still a lot of work to do.

"We think building a multiplayer game is very hard and risky, and the best way to minimize that risk [is] to make sure that we are able to have it in players' hands from an early state to help us shape it and tell us what is fun and what isn't," Valve says at the top of the update.

Six new heroes and a ton of visual overhauls came to Deadlock earlier this year in the Old Gods, New Blood update. While not everything in the game was touched, the breadth of the update made it seem like Deadlock was entering the next stage in its development. …