Deadlock "Cannot enter matchmaking, already trying to find a match"
Pressing play shows "Error - Cannot enter matchmaking, you are already trying to find a match", even though you aren't queued, and it comes back after every restart.
Also appears as: cannot enter matchmaking you are already trying to find a match, deadlock cannot enter matchmaking, deadlock already trying to find a match, deadlock can't queue
Valve's matchmaking thinks your account is already in a queue, so it refuses to start another. The player who reported it on Valve's forum in April 2026 showed it was tied to the account, not the PC: another Steam account on the same computer could queue normally, and switching back brought the error back. Verifying files, reinstalling, restarting and running as administrator didn't help anyone in the thread. It cleared only when Valve shipped its next update. There's nothing to fix on your PC.
What to try
- 01Reported
There's no local fix: the stuck state is on your account
Verifying files, reinstalling, restarting and running as administrator all failed for reporters, and another Steam account on the same PC could queue fine. Don't spend time troubleshooting your PC.
- 02Reported
Report it on Valve's forum and wait for the next update
Post in the Bug Reports section of forums.playdeadlock.com, saying another account works on the same PC. For the April 2026 reporter, the next Valve update cleared it. We'll update this page if a faster fix turns up.
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What people are saying
Notes from players who've hit this one — no time limit, an answer from months ago is still an answer.
- Nothing reported here yet.
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