Wuh-oh, for some reason, an "extremely early" Left 4 Dead prototype has been found thanks to a recent Counter-Strike: CZ update.
]]>The fifteenth anniversary of Left 4 Dead arrives this weekend, no doubt firing up countless hazy dorm room memories and making a lot of us feel very old. It gave me a pause of disbelief earlier, as I think it’s the first time I’ve properly realised that I’m now old enough to have still been an adult with a job and children 15 years ago. That seems impossible. In my head, my age minus 15 is “around fifteen”, not “mid twenties”.
]]>The Xbox 360 first launched in 2005, and if you were fortunate enough to not encounter the ‘Red Ring of Death’ that the earlier consoles suffered from, then you were set for a good few years of gaming.
]]>Turtle Rock, the team made up of veteran Left 4 Dead developers, specialises in creating co-op shooters. Its first project, Evolve, wasn't the big success it hoped it would be, but the studio bounced back with the excellent Back 4 Blood.
]]>According to ex-Valve writer Chet Faliszek, Left 4 Dead president and co-founder Gabe Newell didn't want to put zombies in the game.
]]>In developer Stray Bombay’s latest video devblog, co-founder Chet Faliszek confirmed that the studio's first game, The Anacrusis, will launch January 13 in early access with its first three episodes. The video also offered some insight into how the company is taking feedback into account with the game’s development.
]]>Kim Swift, who you may know from her work on Portal and Left 4 Dead, has been hired by Microsoft and has joined the developers at Xbox Game Studios.
]]>The Last Stand is an update for Left 4 Dead 2, and it has been created by the community.
]]>Valve has squashed rumors that it's working on Left 4 Dead 3.
]]>While Valve still struggles to count to three, Techland is carrying the torch. There’s some kind of crossover event coming where Dying Light teams up with Left 4 Dead, reanimating the corpse of one of the best co-op shooters ever made.
]]>The fake - but very convincing - Left 4 Dead 3 teaser that went up overnight is definitely not made by Valve.
]]>A set of 29 screenshots purportedly from an early build of Left 4 Dead 3 have surfaced.
]]>The developers behind Left 4 Dead have announced a new co-op zombie shooter called Back 4 Blood.
]]>New titles have been added to the Xbox One X enhanced backward compatibility library, and it will please many a Valve fan.
]]>Turtle Rock, the studio behind Evolve and Left 4 Dead, is hiring for an unannounced AAA title.
]]>Chet Faliszek has left Valve after devoting 12 years to the company.
]]>Erik Wolpaw, co-writer on the Half-Life, Portal and Left 4 Dead franchises has left Valve.
]]>Turtle Rock is still focused on co-op FPS, but it's pretty over boxed retail releases.
]]>It's unfinished but you can play it right now.
]]>More fuel for the Left 4 Dead 3 rumour fires.
]]>Flashback, Babel Rising, and Brain Challenge made the list as well.
]]>Surprise! Red Dead Redemption is backward compatible on Xbox One now. And guess what? Halo Wars, Left 4 Dead and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night are on the way too it seems, and it appears Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is also playable.
]]>The entire cast of the Left 4 Dead games are now available to play in Zombie Army Trilogy and it's a free update.
]]>Left 4 Dead: Survivors is coming to Japanese arcades courtesy of Valve and Taito, and new artwork has revealed the game's four playable characters.
]]>Left 4 Dead: Survivors is an official arcade off-shoot heading to Japan, courtesy of Taito and Valve. It's just received its first trailer and, well, it looks a lot like Left 4 Dead on consoles.
]]>Left 4 Dead: Survivors is a new arcade game coming to Japanese arcades courtesy of Valve and Taito. A new trailer has dropped after a run of teasers from the project.
]]>Left 4 Dead "never would have happened" without Turtle Rock, studio co-founder Phil Robb said during an Evolve event last week.
]]>This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
]]>Noticed some weird happenings in your Steam Library today? Some users have reported a strange error where the game labelled "Team Fortress 2" is actually Left 4 Dead, and vice versa. The issue only seems to apply to Valve-developed games, and doesn't seem to cause any major problems, but Valve has suggested a pretty simple fix which may resolve it for you.
]]>Valve has dug out old Turtle Rock version of the original Left 4 Dead, and has released the beta version of Francis as a mod.
]]>As promised earlier this week, the Left 4 Dead 2 Linux beta is live. The beta build allows Linux owners to play the game natively, and comes with the new Extended Mutation System. Those who currently own Left 4 Dead 2 will see the beta in their Steam library, and the complete game comes with authoring tools and the beta Dedicated Server. It also includes updated Windows and Mac clients, so even if you are not running under Linux you can help by testing the Beta. Further information can be found through the link to the L4D Blog.
]]>Valve has added the Steam Workshop created Helm’s Deep Reborn map to the official Left 4 Dead 2 servers, alongside an update which fixes an issue with dedicated servers and workshop content. The map, as you've already figured out, adds Helm's Deep from Lord of the Rings to the zombie shooter. It sounds kookie enough to make me want to try it despite being horrible at L4D2. Have a look at the map for yourself through here. Thanks, D'toid.
]]>Xbox Live's 'CyberMonday' deals continue this week with a new batch of digital savings including Expandables 2, Gotham City Imposters, Shadow Complex and Left 4 Dead's Cold Stream DLC. Check out the sale below.
]]>The Academy of Interactive Arts and Science has announced Gabe Newell will be the 17th inductee into the AIAS Hall of Fame. Valve's co-founder and president will also headline the D.I.C.E. 2013 Summit stage as Thursday conference keynote speaker.
]]>Warcelona, the fan-made campaign for Left 4 Dead 2, is now available for download. The campaign's four maps recreate the route between the Sant Roc church and the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona. As PC Gamer notes, installing the campaign is a bit "complex at the moment," but all complexities for such content will be alleviated once the Left 4 Dead 2 Workshop beta has finished, and becomes available to the public. The Left 4 Dead 2 Workshop, currently in test beta, will be expanded into an invite only private beta soon. Get more information on the beta and instructions on how to download Warcelona through the L4D Blog. A video for the campaign is below.
]]>After three years in development, the fan-made Back to School campaign for Left 4 Dead 2 is finally available for download. You can head on over to the dev team's ModDB page to pick it up for yourself now, but you should probably watch the kinda completely awesome trailer they've released for their work first. Check it below.
]]>Left 4 Dead 2 will be free-to-play this weekend, starting tomorrow, October 25. New players can start pre-loading the game now on Steam, and current players will be the recipients of a new achievemen called Good Guy Nick. The free-to-play weened ends October 29 at 10.00am PDT/1.00pm EDT. Thanks, Game Informer.
]]>Left 4 Dead 3 could happen according to Valve's Chet Faliszek, although don't go expecting anything soon, or at all.
]]>Valve has its eye firmly on the future of gaming. VG247's Dave Cook spoke to Chet Faliszek about where all of this is heading.
]]>Left 4 Dead 2 had some DLC planned at one time based on the films Cabin in the Woods, according to the movie's director Drew Goddard.
]]>Left 4 Dead 2 is getting Steam Workshop support as well as an “expanded scripting tool” so folks can create “deeper and more varied experiences inside of Left 4 Dead 2.” These features are planned for Linux users," and will start in the middle of next month. More information is available through the Left 4 Dead blog. Thanks, PC Gamer.
]]>The free Mercy Hospital DLC is out today on Steam for Payday: The Heist. The content includes a map from Left 4 Dead, and those who own the first version of Valve's shooter or L4D2 will get a zombie mask to wear in Payday. There's more, though: "We also have some extra candy hidden in there for those who just can't help ending up in the hospital," said the game listing. Hit up the link for more.
]]>Valve has announced via the Left 4 Dead blog the Cold Stream DLC, which consists of the Cold Stream, Blood Harvest, Crash Course, Dead Air, Death Toll and No Mercy maps will be released on Mac, PC and Xbox 360 July 24.
]]>It looks as though the Overkill and Valve cross-over project with left 4 Dead undertones is the No Mercy map.
]]>Valve's Chet Faliszek has confirmed to PCGamesN in an interview it and Overkill are working on a collaboration, but not a L4D prequel as reported yesterday.
]]>Overkill Entertianment has announced it's working with Valve on what it calls an "in-depth collaboration" involving Payday: The Heist and Left 4 Dead.
]]>Valve and toy manufacturer NECA are teaming up to bring fans a life-sized Portal gun this summer for a whopping $130.
]]>RPS has noted that Valve has made its games available on GameStop download service Impulse. The marketplace, which was owned by Stardock up until last year when it was bought by GameStop, now has five titles from the company: Portal 2, The Half-Life Complete Collection, Left 4 Dead 1 + 2 and The Orange Box, all of which end up requiring Steam activation anyways. Still, your options on where to buy Valve games has become more broader now.
]]>But some people are apparently into that sort of thing. The level of detail on this figure is incredible, and we really can't imagine who would want to have this on display in their home/office. But in this case it's a sort of horrifying beauty. Full picture after the break.
]]>Valve and Dark Horse have announced a hardcover collection of comics based on the worlds of Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress, and Portal. The comic, which contains over two hundred pages of story, is titled: Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and other Steam-Powered Stories, and is to be made available on November 16. You can pre-order it here, and have a look at the cover below.
]]>Once a sanctity of hallowed soundbites, the daily Shorts is rapidly transforming into an excuse to post videos.
]]>Here's a second dose of shorts for your Tuesday.
]]>Valve boss Gabe Newell has said that sales of Portal 2 were better on PC than they were on either 360 or PS3.
]]>Valve's added an updated version of the original Left 4 Dead Terminal Map for Dead Air into Left 4 Dead 2, and it is handing out an incentive to test it for bugs and the like. This incentive will come in the form of an achievement called Connecting Fights, which is earned by playing a complete game of Versus in Dead Air. What's more, once 60,000 people earn the achievement, Valve will unlock the beta version of Blood Harvest on Steam the following weekday. Think of it as the same as with the Dead Air incentive, only instead of the goal being 20,000, Valve has added and extra 40,000 on top of it. Get to work. Thanks, Shack.
]]>More shorts for your day are below the break.
]]>A 300-page strong Valve comic book will get a release in the US this coming autumn. On November 3, for $30, Dark Horse Comics will launch Valve Presents: The Sacrifice and other Steam-Powered Stories, a book based on comics penned on Team Fortress 2, Portal and Left 4 Dead, the latter's Sacrifice will be the main comic of the lot.
]]>So many tiny bits of news. So little time.
]]>The Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead received a bit of spit and polish with a recent patch, with the happy result of restoring achievements to those who lost their progress thanks to add-on The Sacrifice.
]]>Valve has updated L4D2's Mutation mode this week with Hard Eight, which throws eight special Infected at players, thus the name of the mode.
But wait - there's more.
]]>Looks like Valve may be teasing something related to the Left 4 Dead franchise during the VGAs next month.
]]>Valve has announced the latest Mutation in Left 4 Dead 2 is called Bleed Out Versus.
]]>After releasing its sequel at the start of the month, Valve's finally put out the original Left 4 Dead for Mac on Steam.
]]>Valve has sent over a lovely mail, reminding us The Sacrifice DLC for Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 is out now available, as well as L4D2 on Mac.
]]>The new Left 4 Dead "The Sacrifice" trailer presents a classic match-up of brains versus brawn. And overwhelming numbers. And speed. And mobility. And every other conceivable disadvantage one small group of weak, scared, tired humans could have against a never-ending, never-faltering brain-hungry horde.
Our guess? Everyone's gonna be perfectly fine, of course! How else would something called "The Sacrifice" end?
]]>Valve's announced an October 5 release for The Sacrifice, the new story DLC for both Left 4 Dead 1 and Left 4 Dead 2 on 360 and PC.
]]>Valve plans to release the first part of its online comic book, The Sacrifice, detailing Bill's demise on September 14.
]]>Valve boss Gabe Newell has told PC Gamer the firm will likely release another quick sequel to one of its games - a la Left 4 Dead 2 - "at some point".
]]>Fold your hands. Next, turn your eyes skyward. You are now looking in God's general direction.
Now thank him. Thank him so hard.
]]>The plot, it thickens. You played as them; you laughed with them; you screamed with them; you listened to one of them complain a bunch. And now, you get to choose which one of them dies. Like, for real. Sorry, no magical resurrection lockers this time around.
We're speaking, of course, of the original Left 4 Dead cast, and smart money says this next batch of DLC is their last hurrah - at least, as a foursome.
]]>Valve's posted stats for Mutation modes in Left 4 Dead 2, and according to its findings, Realism Versus and Chainsaw Massacre were the two most popular of the lot.
]]>Those who haven't played Left 4 Dead 2 on PC in a while may wish to log in and load up the latest title update for the zombie shooter.
]]>Anyone up for Left 4 Dead on PS3? After the Portal 2 E3 megaton, "who knows?"
]]>This week's Mutation in Left 4 Dead 2 is Headshot, and it's exactly what it sounds like.
]]>Valve has announced the latest Mutation in Left 4 Dead 2, and it's a single-player mode called Last Man On Earth.
]]>Valve has updated it's store with loads of Left 4 Dead 2 goodies of the snuggle kind, and as you can see from the header image, the first in line for the zombie cuties is the Boomer.
]]>Update: Valve has detailed The Passing a bit more, citing the single-player, multiplayer and co-op modes that will be present in the DLC. It will also include weekly game mode events called "Mutations." These week-long runs of new gameplay modes range from "Realism Versus" mode to "Chainsaw Massacre," which gives all players chainsaws with an unlimited supply of gasoline. YES!
There are over 20 Mutations planned, each playable on all L4D2 Campaigns. Mutations are exclusively available to owners of "The Passing" DLC.
It will run you 560 MSP on XBL and will be free for PC.
More below the break.
]]>Some Achievements listed for The Passing, Left 4 Dead 2's first expansion, hint around at content that will be made available in the DLC when it is launched this week.
]]>Valve's L4D2 DLC, The Passing, will hit next week according to a blog post on the game's official site.
]]>Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing has been detailed on GameTrailers TV, especially the part where the cast from the original Left 4 Dead meets up with the new cast.
Unfortunately, if you wish to remain pure and virginal, don't look below the break as it may spoil it for you.
]]>Valve's confirmed on its Left 4 Dead blog that both games in the shooter series will both be cross-platform compatible between PC and Mac, and that both will feature cross-platform play.
]]>Valve has revealed over on the Left 4 Dead Blog that L4D2 players have killed over 28 billion zombies in the first two months of release.
Good lord. That's a lot of zombies!
]]>Valve has revealed during X10 that some DLC is heading to the original Left 4 Dead, in order to help explain how the original survivors came to be included in The Passing for Left 4 Dead 2.
]]>Valve has released information on an upcoming Left 4 Dead 2 update currently in the slow cooker, and it will remove the multiplayer auto-spawn in Versus Mode and provide the Infected Team with bots to help out when they're one man down.
]]>The Passing, Left 4 Dead 2's first add-on, will release in early 2010, Valve said today.
The content will see the sequel's survivors meeting up with the original game's cast. No specifics on how the narrative's going to work were discussed in the PR.
The Passing will also include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge, and introduce a new co-op challenge mode.
A new "uncommon common" zombie class, melee weapon and firearm will also be added.
Full thing through the link.
]]>Valve has sent over a new Left 4 Dead 2 TV spot featuring the single "Electric Worry" by the band Clutch.
It's passed the break.
The commercial's set to air in North America this week, and throughout Europe early next week.
Enjoy.
]]>Valve boss Gabe Newell's stuck his leg in the sand over his team's place in the gaming community, saying it's fully involved.
"We recognize that we really are part of this community," he said, speaking in Australia after a Valve fan raised the cash to ship him out there.
"We talk about it a lot, that we're not up here and the community's down here, and the games snowflake in. We really are part of it."
Newell expanded on the whole Australia incident, which came about after Gabe jokingly said he's travel Down Under if an L4D Campaign-maker stumped up for his air fare.
"It was pretty clear that this was one of those things that the community fell in love with the idea," he added.
"They wanted us to come down here and meet with Joe and give him feedback. And in our experience, it's been very bad idea when we get such a clear signal from PC gaming community, if we ignore it."
Watch the full interview after the break. Thanks, Kotaku.
]]>Valve's Gabe Newell has decided to fly to Australia to meet local game designer Joe W-A, who raised over $3000 for Newell's visit through the gaming community.
"The power of the gaming community and their ability to rally around a cause - be it serious or fun in nature - is amazing," said Newell. "In 2003, the community helped the FBI and European law enforcement officials find the people who stole the Half-Life 2 source code. This year, the community is putting me on a plane to the other side of the world to meet Joe W-A and see his MOD.
"It's going to be a fun trip."
Newell and Joe will meet in Sydney next week, with Newell donating the three-grand Joe raised to charity instead of using it for his trip.
Press release after the jump.
]]>Valve's announced that Left 4 Dead add-on Crash Course will be available on September 29 for both PC and 360.
The content's a new Campaign bridging the gap between the end of No Mercy and the beginning of Death Toll in the original game.
It's free for PC. Not so much for 360. Full PR after the break.
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