How to Create Custom Matches in Deadlock

Custom games with friends in Deadlock are the perfect battlegrounds to earn bragging rights. While you can challenge all your friends to a one-on-one with the new private lobbies, it also allows competitive players to test new strategies and hero builds, and strengthen synergy with their teammates.

For a long time during Deadlock‘s “open” beta, there was no way to set up a custom lobby, but now it’s possible. Here’s everything you need to know to get started with custom matches in Deadlock.

How to Start Custom Matches in Deadlock

To create a custom match in Deadlock, press F7 to open the console and enter “private_lobby_create” which instantly creates a private lobby with two teams with six slots each. Valve introduced this feature with a temporary interface in the September 12, 2024 update, and confirmed in the patch notes that a new UI is coming, along with a non-console option to host custom matches.

Private lobbies also allow two spectators, and you can choose from five server regions: North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, South America, and Oceania. When you join a team, You need to click the Prepare button next to your name to select a heroYou can start the match with any number of players or even alone, and it can serve as an ideal practice ground with bots available in three difficulty levels: easy, medium and hard.

There is also an invite button to send invites to your Steam friends who want to join Deadlocks playtest. Everyone who joins your custom match will be placed in the unassigned section and everyone in the lobby (including spectators) will need to prepare themselves so that you see the Start Match button at the bottom of your screen.