How many people can I invite to Deadlock?

Valve has not published a fixed number, and the limit has changed during the playtest. Invites are sent from inside the game to people on your Steam friends list.

Why has my Deadlock invite not arrived?

The invite appears in the Steam library rather than in chat or email, so it is often simply missed. Restarting the Steam client resolves most genuine delivery delays; very new accounts and very new friendships can also be blocked by Steam limits.

Can I sell or trade a Deadlock invite?

No. Invites are issued to a specific Steam account and are not transferable. There is no key or code involved.

How to invite a friend to Deadlock

You invite someone to Deadlock from inside the game, not from Steam. They must already be on your Steam friends list. Open Deadlock, find the invite option in the main menu, and pick the friend — the playtest invite then arrives in their Steam library, not as a chat message or an email.

Sending an invite

Add the person on Steam first. The invite list is built from your friends list.
Launch Deadlock and use the invite option in the main menu.
Select the friend. The invite is issued against their Steam account — there is no code to copy and nothing to paste.

When the invite does not arrive

This is the single most common complaint on the official forums, and it is usually one of these:

They are looking in the wrong place. The invite appears in the Steam library, not in Steam chat and not by email. It can sit unnoticed for days.
Steam has not refreshed. Restarting the Steam client is the fix that works most often.
The friendship is too new. Steam applies limits to new accounts and new friendships that can block playtest invites.
Their profile or library is private. Some invite flows fail silently against a locked-down profile.

What an invite does not do

It grants playtest access to that account only. It is not transferable, there is no key to sell or trade, and anyone offering to sell you one has nothing to sell.

Common questions

How many people can I invite to Deadlock?: Valve has not published a fixed number, and the limit has changed during the playtest. Invites are sent from inside the game to people on your Steam friends list.
Why has my Deadlock invite not arrived?: The invite appears in the Steam library rather than in chat or email, so it is often simply missed. Restarting the Steam client resolves most genuine delivery delays; very new accounts and very new friendships can also be blocked by Steam limits.
Can I sell or trade a Deadlock invite?: No. Invites are issued to a specific Steam account and are not transferable. There is no key or code involved.

Verified on 14 August 2026. Sources: Deadlock on Steam, Official forums — invite delivery threads.

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