BackgrindDoes Deadlock allow overlays?
The verdict below is for plain always-on-top overlay windows — the Discord/Steam/OBS class of window drawn over the game — not injected overlays or graphics hooks.
Deadlock runs an early, largely undocumented Valve anti-cheat; no overlay-related incidents are on record, but Valve has not published an official overlay stance yet.
Valve added a first-pass anti-cheat to Deadlock in September 2024 (famous for turning detected cheaters into frogs) and has said a more extensive v2 is coming. It appears to follow VAC’s user-mode philosophy, and standard overlays run over the game today — but with the system unfinished and undocumented, we hold this at unknown rather than assume.
Backgrind is a plain always-on-top window — no injection, no memory reading, no input automation. Grind with your agents between matches.
Get BackgrindWhat actually gets you banned in Deadlock
DLL injection
Loading code into the game process — the surface VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) scans hardest.
Memory reading
Extracting positions, loot or cooldowns from game memory — radar, ESP, info overlays.
Input automation
Software pressing keys or aiming for you — aimbots, macros, bots.
A plain always-on-top window does none of these
It never touches the Deadlock process. One requirement: run the game in borderless fullscreen — exclusive fullscreen hides every overlay at the OS level, which is a display rule, not an anti-cheat rule. Full reasoning: will a coding overlay get me banned?
And to be explicit: never disable VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) to run an overlay. You do not need to, and it only locks you out of online play.
Frequently asked questions
Does Deadlock allow overlays?
Deadlock runs an early, largely undocumented Valve anti-cheat; no overlay-related incidents are on record, but Valve has not published an official overlay stance yet. This verdict is specifically about plain always-on-top overlay windows — a separate window the OS draws above the game — not about injected overlays or graphics hooks.
Is Deadlock’s anti-cheat kernel-level?
No. Deadlock uses Valve anti-cheat (early system), which does not load a kernel-mode driver. User-mode, signature- and behavior-based, with delayed ban waves. Trusted mode blocks DLLs injected into the game; it has never targeted windows drawn over the game.
Can I get banned for the Discord overlay in Deadlock?
There is not enough public evidence to give a firm answer for Deadlock yet — no documented overlay bans, but no official stance either. What is true everywhere: bans target DLL injection, memory reading, and input automation. A plain always-on-top window does none of those.
Other games on VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat)
Same anti-cheat, same overlay rules — check the game-specific evidence:
Turn Deadlock’s downtime into shipped code.
Backgrind floats your AI coding agent — Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, or hosted Grindy — in an always-on-top window over Deadlock in borderless fullscreen, and pings you only when the agent needs a decision. A plain window: no injection, no memory reading, no input automation. Grind with your agents between matches.
More: check another game · the full ban-risk explainer · borderless vs exclusive fullscreen