L4D Official Blog

Save Me Some Sugar – This won’t take long

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:58:00 +0000

The Midnight Riders need your help. We haven’t seen the Riders for a long time. We were hoping they could help us with the official release of “Save Me Some Sugar” for the upcoming DLC for Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 “The Sacrifice”.

Week 19

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:51:00 +0000

Split Vote! Whose back story?

You're headed in the wrong direction.

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:47:00 +0000

The new featured community campaign for PC players is Detour Ahead. This 5 map campaign offers Co-op and Versus gameplay. While the explosion in the finale will light the night sky, it's the train bridge you will remember.

To play, first make sure you have the Left 4 Dead 2 Add-on support downloaded in the tools tab of the Steam library.

Week 18

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Week 18: Last Man on Earth Returns!, Bill?, Favorite Mutation

Movie Night

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:21:00 +0000

While waiting for DLC news to be announced on Game Trailers TV at 12:30am (PST) this Friday on Spike TV, we thought we would see what the community has been working on. Checking YouTube we found a bunch of cool movies. Here are just a few. Yes, we know some of these may make it a bit cOld in here, but just in case you missed them.

One word of warning, some of these movies use naughty words, have violence in them and well... other things. You have been warned.

Week 17

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 00:48:00 +0000

Week 17: Iron Man, Diagnosing Mutations, Bill?

Iron Man
No respawns, no restarts, no ammo, all tension!
Did you vote the Mutations are too easy? Try this one on Expert. Realism rules are in effect. There are no respawns in the map. There is no ammo. If your team wipes, you need to restart the whole campaign.

Here's Looking at You

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:00:00 +0000

2 Evil Eyes, Summer Sale, and Upcoming DLC.

We are starting a new feature for PC players this week. Bi-weekly community campaigns!

Every two weeks we are going to feature a new community campaign on our servers. We will feature one campaign at a time to make it is easier to find games. We’ll be keeping it featured for two weeks so people can familiarize themselves with the maps for competitive play.

We currently have 120 servers setup around the world with the first featured campaign – 2 Evil Eyes.

For PC users here is how you can join us playing 2 Evil Eyes:

Week 16

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:04:00 +0000

Mutation Breakdown

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:56:00 +0000

With the first dozen Mutations out we wanted to take a minute and talk about the Mutations.

Overall the Mutations and weekly polls have been a great success and an amazing way for us to get feedback from the community. Don’t worry we still have more Mutations coming and we will also be tweaking and bringing back some of our favorites.

The idea behind the Mutations was simple. Left 4 Dead 2 is played by many different players and types of players. Some players have 300+ hours played in almost daily games and some players only play in weekly casual games with friends. We wanted to create weekly events that mixed up the game rules to experiment with gameplay and made people look at the game in new ways.

Week 15

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:42:00 +0000

Week 15: Split Vote! If you only had one thing? TANK!

We split in this week’s vote. PC users went with Survival Versus and Xbox 360 users went with Four Swordsmen of the Apocalypse.

The Invisible Tank

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 22:21:00 +0000

WEEK 14

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:35:00 +0000

Mutation Week 14: Healthpackalypse!, What else are you playing?, Pick Your Mutation, extra updates.

Healthpackalypse!
No health in this versus game.

Grind down the Survivors and don’t worry about them bouncing back. With no Health kits in Versus, their permanent health is on a one way ride to zero.

WEEK 13

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Mutation Week 13: Hard Eight, What is your favorite Melee Weapon?, What else are you playing?

Hard Eight
Double the specials, quadruple the fun!

Face eight Special Infected at one time, this is double the standard number! And if that wasn’t trouble enough, we also increase the spawning frequency so it is raining Specials.

WEEK 12

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:31:00 +0000

Four Swordsmen of the Apocalypse, What is your favorite finale? What is your favorite Melee Weapon?

Four Swordsmen of the Apocalypse
Four Swords against plenty of apocalypse!

Armed with only swords the survivors face near continuous streams of Special Infected ready to be sliced and diced.

360 Update

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 22:06:00 +0000

WEEK 11

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:33:00 +0000

WEEK 10

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:08:00 +0000

We Might Need a Recount!

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:51:37 +0000

Voting is going strong for next week's Encore Mutation Poll.

On the 360 side, Chainsaw Massacre is the runway leader with 43% of the vote. On the PC side, we are quite a bit closer with Headshot! leading with only 33% over Chainsaw Massacre's 32%. This is a close race, so make sure to get your vote in by Thursday night!

WEEK 9

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:21:08 +0000

Headshot!, This is my Rifle, Pick Your Mutation

Headshot!
The only shot that counts is the one in the head.

Shoot them in the arm, shoot them in the leg, shoot them in the chest - it just doesn't matter! The only way these zombies are going down is with a head shot. Other hits will stumble them back, but only a head shot or decapitation will kill them.

WEEK 8

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 19:08:55 +0000

Room For One, Everything Must Go, Favorite Weapon Class

New Mutation
Room For One
Only room for one survivor in this rescue vehicle.

WEEK 7

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:48:03 +0000

Chainsaw Massacre, Loving the Dark, Is Less More, and Last Video on Earth.

New Mutation
Chainsaw Massacre.
4 chainsaws, millions of zombies.

You are armed with the only thing you need to survive a Zombie Apocalypse, a chainsaw. Rip apart thousands of zombies on your way to safety.

Week 6

Fri, 28 May 2010 16:55:44 +0000

Last Man On Earth, Special Infected Love, Favorite Campaign, and Last Video on Earth.

Week 5

Fri, 21 May 2010 18:00:31 +0000

Week 5 of the in game blog: Return of the Gnome and Realism Versus and Pick Your Favorite Infected.

Week 4

Fri, 14 May 2010 19:50:56 +0000

Week 4 of the in game blog: New Mutation, Angry and Confused, and Pick a Mutation.

New Mutation
Last Gnome On Earth
Protect the gnome at all cost.
Do you crave attention? Want all the infected to swarm you and the gnome you are carrying? Then we have the game mode for you. The team needs to carry the garden gnome from start to finish in any campaign. The common infected hate the gnome and will swarm whoever is carrying him. Watch out putting him on the ground, a boomer explosion will send him flying!

Week 3

Thu, 06 May 2010 19:00:40 +0000

Week 3 of the in game blog: New Mutation, Landslide Victory!, and what rages you?

New Mutation
Follow the Liter
Scavenge one can at a time.
No more fighting over what cans to grab first. This Mutation spawns only one group of cans at a time, so survivors know exactly where to go. There is only one problem: the Infected know exactly where they are going.

Puking and Bleeding Out

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:19:48 +0000

This week we introduce a new mutation, reveal poll results, put the game in your hands, have a Boomer sighting, and more!

New Mutation
Bleed Out
Your health is a ticking away!

Passed!

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:34:48 +0000

"The Passing" is now available on the Xbox 360 and PC!

The first game add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) brings the original Left 4 Dead Survivors down south for a meeting with the L4D2 cast, while delivering new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay for the PC and Xbox 360.

Mutations

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:42:25 +0000

The Passing introduces a series of weekly game mode events dubbed "Mutations." These are week-long runs of new gameplay modes that range from "Realism Versus" to "Chainsaw Massacre". Each week one new Mutation is featured and the previous Mutation retired.

The Passing, Coming April 22

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:25:55 +0000

The first game add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 brings the original Left 4 Dead (L4D1) Survivors down south for a meeting with the L4D2 cast, while delivering new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay for the PC and Xbox 360.

Passing an Achievement

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:46:45 +0000

Worlds Collide!

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:04:40 +0000

Celebrating the pending release of "The Passing" and the Left 4 Dead 1 and Left 4 Dead 2 teams colliding, we have a few other world colliding events to announce.

Passing the Savings on to You

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:52:25 +0000

That's right, Internet blog readers! It's tax season here at Valve, and we need to CLEAR OUT our digital warehouses! What does that mean for you? How about the award-winning Left 4 Dead 2, now available for 50% off the original price? (March 23rd to March 25th)

12 Terms from the Left 4 Dictionary

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0000

While we are finishing up on the new L4D2 DLC "The Passing", we wanted to take a minute and talk about the process we use when designing maps.

But before we jump into that, we also wanted to give you a heads up to Watch Spike TV's GTTV this Friday night (March 19th) for more information on the passing, including the poster tagline.

Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 are coming to the Mac!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:56:33 +0000

We like the platform wars in the forums so much that we've decided to add a new platform to the fray. Later this spring, we'll be releasing both Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 on the OSX operating system for Mac computers, all through Steam.

Don't worry, we'll make more

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:18:36 +0000

In the first two months of Left 4 Dead 2's release, 28,981,249,043 zombies have been shot, bludgeoned, chainsawed and killed — or, for our younger readers, taken to a farm where they can frolic and shuffle around forever.

You read that correctly: 28 BILLION. To put that number in perspective:

They Live

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:23:13 +0000

With our last update having come out a few weeks ago and the next one a few weeks out, we wanted to let people know what we are working on. In addition to "The Passing" DLC, we are working on some other updates coming for both PC and 360. While not a complete list by any means, we wanted to give a heads up on a few Versus changes coming.

Turning Silver into Gold

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:43:01 +0000

For this weekend only, Microsoft is hosting a free multiplayer weekend for Left 4 Dead 2. What does this mean? You don't need to have an Xbox Live Gold account to access Left 4 Dead 2's multiplayer features. That's right: You will be upgraded from Silver to Gold for free. You can go online alone or with a split-screen friend. This event starts at 5pm GMT Friday, January 15th and ends at 5pm on Sunday the 18th.

All I want for Christmas is an SDK

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:21:43 +0000

We are releasing the Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools and Left 4 Dead 2 Add-on Support today.

PLAYERS: If you are not looking to design but play custom campaigns all you need to do is install the add-on support package. Just go into steam and open up the Tools tab. Look for the entry labeled Left 4 Dead 2 - Add-on Support click and install it. This download is sizable, but will update your L4D2 installation to allow running ANY map, including custom maps made for the original Left 4 Dead. Once installed, you do not need to run this application, it will always be active.

We will be updating the Left 4 Dead 2 game UI to include links to this package when applicable but for now please just download it directly. If you see any missing textures or models from your favorite map let us know in the forums.

DESIGNERS: Besides also downloading the above file you will need to download the Left 4 Dead 2 - Authoring Tools. Downloading it will add applications, utilities, and example files that are useful for building L4D2 game add-ons. These are similar to the tools released for Left 4 Dead, but include many updates and new features. Among the most useful are:

Gamemode Logic: Designers can now make a single map that can behave differently depending on the gamemode in which it is being played. This can dramatically reduce the file size of Campaign add-ons, as the same map can be used for Co-op, Versus, Scavenge, and Survival.

Director Logic: Maps can now alter their layout and behavior depending on how "angry" the A.I. director is. The better the Survivors are doing, the angrier the AI Director seems to get. This allows you to base variable paths and other events on the player's skill and current conditions.

Scavenge Mode Support! All the elements map authors need to support Scavenge in their maps. This includes game props as well as a full example in the form of Deadline 2, an updated tutorial campaign.

We have included an updated tutorial to help you get going and as always you can join the discussion on the map designer email list. What we want for New Years is to get to play your custom maps in Left 4 Dead 2.

For the best user experience and to take advantage of the new map and nav mesh formats, Left 4 Dead 1 Map Makers will want to compile Left 4 Dead 2 specific versions of their map in the new tool.

Happy Holidays,

The Left 4 Dead 2 Team

Massive 360 Server Upgrade

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:36:47 +0000

We have upgraded our network infrastructure to better accommodate the huge response to L4D2. 360 players will now have lag-free servers. We've also added more dedicated servers.

We will continue to monitor the situation and add resources as needed.

Thank you for your patience. Now quit reading this, get out there and kill some zombies!

Left 4 Dead 2 Nabs Six VGA Nominations

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:09:25 +0000

Spike TV just posted their nominees for the 2009 Video Game Awards, and we're proud to announce that Left 4 Dead 2 is up for six awards—Game of the Year, Studio of the Year, Best Xbox 360 Game, Best PC Game, Best Shooter and Best Multiplayer Game. If you've been enjoying L4D2 this week, don't forget to drop into Spike's onine voting center and give us some love!

An Update for all you Zombie Killers in the UK

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:39:50 +0000

Due to high demand for L4D2, we decided to move various street dates forward for a coordinated worldwide release—except in the UK, where this was not possible (copies of the game are still arriving).

The good news is that we plan to have everyone in the UK playing Left 4 Dead 2 by Friday morning. Those who pre-ordered in the UK before the worldwide launch have been given access to the game.

Left 4 Dead 2 is live on Steam!

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:26:37 +0000

The PC version of Left 4 Dead 2, the sequel to the best-selling and critically-acclaimed co-operative multiplayer thriller, is now available via Steam to gamers around the globe. The title will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 at retail stores on Tuesday, November 17th in North America, and worldwide throughout the week. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com.

Our Contest Winners, and L4D2's New Special Infected

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:01:24 +0000

The "Dude, Where's My Thumb?" contest is officially closed. Congratulations to contest winner Roland Nagy, who just won himself an extremely limited edition (i.e. one) customized "infected" Xbox 360 for his entry below:

A Slight Clarification...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:26:12 +0000

Get Free Wallpaper, Turn Yourself into a Zombie, and Win an Xbox

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:40:14 +0000

During the production of a game, a lot of concept art gets drawn up, redrawn, thrown away, cursed at, and, occasionally, even used. There's a mountain of this stuff fluttering around the Valve offices, and while the non-artists among us might not know much (anything) about art, we hope we're not embarrassing our artists by saying it looks pretty kickass. So we grabbed some of it off the nearest pile and made it into desktop wallpaper:

L4D2's "Dude, Where's My Thumb 2" Contest

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:19:26 +0000

For our Left 4 Dead 1 contest giveaway, we gave all you gamers a simple proposition: take a picture of yourself or a friend doing something creative in front of a L4D ad. We were blown away by the inventiveness, humor, and photoshop mastery of some of the replies.

Left 4 Dead 2's G4TV Interviews

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:42:58 +0000

Left 4 Dead 2 TV Spot #2 Hits the Airwaves

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:11:42 +0000

Starting today, L4D2's second television spot (watch the first here)—drops on TV channels across North America. It's packed with explosions, jets, the song "Electric Worry" by Clutch, and hard-hitting action courtesy of our four Survivors Coach, Rochelle, Nick and Ellis.

Oh, and zombies.

The L4D2 Demo is Live!

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:15 +0000

The Left 4 Dead 2 demo is live and available for download on Xbox 360 and PC. Featuring gameplay from the first two (of five) chapters from "The Parish" campaign, the demo is set in the New Orleans French Quarter and is playable in Campaign mode. Keep an eye out for all-new guns, melee weapons, items, Special Infected and "Uncommon Common," a new campaign-specific set of zombies with unique abilities.

Pre-Order Giveaway Madness!

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:40:06 +0000

Those of you who pre-ordered Left 4 Dead 2 (for PC on Steam or at participating retailers) now have exclusive access to the momentous event they said would never happen. For the first time in history, two separate Valve universes collide. That's right: it's a Left 4 Dead/Team Fortress crossover! This is not fan fiction! This is not a dream sequence! The characters from Team Fortress 2 will team-up with Bill's hat from Left 4 Dead 1!

We're back!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:00:46 +0000

As many of you might have heard, Gabe and I went to Australia last week to try out the Source MOD made by Joe W-A, after he was able to raise the funds for the $3000 plane ticket in less than 48 hours.

Warning!!! Zombies Invade Tokyo and London!

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:50:26 +0000

We just had a great showing at the Tokyo Game Show. One of Left 4 Dead 2’s level designers, Kim Swift made the trip. You can check out her multi-language interview here.

Next public showing will be at the London Game Show where we will be showing the as of yet unannounced new game mode. We really should announce that soon… We can give you one hint, the game is 4 v 4. So get your team together and join us in London on October 29th or 30th.

I Hate Helicopters

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:39:43 +0000

Crash Course DLC is here! Find out what happens to Bill, Zoey, Louis, and Francis after their rooftop helicopter rescue in the No Mercy campaign. To celebrate the release of our second DLC for Left 4 Dead, we are offering Left 4 Dead for 50% off until Oct 2nd.

Left 4 Dead 2 Summer Tour Continues

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:00:36 +0000

Next Stop: Penny Arcade Expo

We will be unveiling Dark Carnival at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle September 4-6.

Dark Carnival is the third of five campaigns we have revealed. It is the second campaign of the game and picks up after you have escaped from Savannah.

Left 4 Dead 2's Zombies Invade Gametrailers TV at 12:30am on SPIKE!

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:18:00 +0000

Left 4 Dead 2 Summer Tour Begins

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:16:41 +0000

First Stop: Comic Con

During the San Diego Comic Con gamers had an opportunity to visit us in our Left 4 Dead 2 room and try out two L4D2 levels from the "Swamp Fever" campaign. The response was overwhelming, with lines going out the door well before we opened. Throughout the four days that the demo was made available, there was never an empty seat.

Get your Campaign On

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:43:35 +0000

We're pretty excited about this next Left 4 Dead update, and we hope you will be as well. Since the Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools Beta was released several weeks ago, mod authors have been cooking with gas, so to speak. The ranks of dedicated community members working hard to create new content have been swelling, and a very hungry horde awaits...

Rules of Thumb

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:56:02 +0000

When it came time to photograph the box art of L4D1, our art staff had three goals. One, there should be a hand in it somehow. Two, the hand should have a thumb bitten off, so customers would look at the four fingers remaining on the hand and think, "Hey, four." Three, under no circumstances would we use Photoshop. L4D is a visceral experience, and its box art deserved the same approach. Valve artist and L4D1 hand model Andrea Wicklund was more than happy to help.

Announcing Left 4 Dead 2!

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 23:47:26 +0000

We've just announced that Left 4 Dead 2 is coming later this year! It's a much larger game than the original, and features new co-op and versus campaigns, all-new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, as well as melee combat. Check out the teaser trailer, and watch this space for more news in the coming days.

Now Hiring!

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:47:22 +0000

It's been an interesting week for us here on the Left 4 Dead team. This Monday, for instance, somebody accidentally told Robin Walker he had the power to fire people. In other interesting news, the Left 4 Dead team has all been fired.

A Subtle Hint

Tue, 19 May 2009 19:05:06 +0000

The 27th Annual Golden Joystick Awards are now accepting votes for your favorite game of the year. Now, we'd of course never for a second want to sway your vote and suggest you follow this link and vote for Left 4 Dead. We're above that sort of thing.

Personalize your apocalypse

Fri, 15 May 2009 22:30:26 +0000

Today we are opening the beta of the Left 4 Dead Authoring Tools to the public. It is available as a free download for all owners of the PC version of Left 4 Dead, and can be found under the "Tools" tab in Steam.

Left 4 Dead, by the Numbers

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:42:07 +0000

Valve has always seen the value in gathering real-world gameplay data and using it to improve our products. Now we're hoping you'll find it as useful as we do. With the creation of the L4D stats page, our customers will now be able to see a wide variety of gameplay data across all of Left 4 Dead's various game modes.

DLC Released! New L4D swag at The Valve Store.

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:43:47 +0000

We just released the DLC on the PC and 360. This includes the new Survival Mode, The Lighthouse Survival map, and 2 new Versus campaigns. To celebrate the release of the DLC we have cooked up a few items for the Valve Store.

Surviving the L4D Survival Pack

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:03:51 +0000

Survival Mode pits your team against never ending waves of infected. Sounds simple. Just trap the survivors in a small part of a map, unleash the hordes, and record the longest time. Survival Mode, which will be released next week, is actually a bit more than that.

Lose the Thumb: Creating Left 4 Dead's Box Art

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 15:00:04 +0000

Hello. My name is Jeremy Bennett, and I'm an artist at Valve. Most gamers only ever get to see the finished product of a game cover, so we thought some of you might find it interesting to hear the process that led to Left 4 Dead's final art. As you'll see, there were quite a few attempts along the way, all of them eventually abandoned.

A Match Made In Zombie Heaven

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:27:44 +0000

In a recent update for L4D on the PC, we provided the option for players to choose between starting a game on an Official server or the Best Available. This is just the first step in giving players control over what servers they play on and the type of experience they have.

Building a Better Apocalypse

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:46:11 +0000

We recently updated the PC version of Left 4 Dead with some exploit fixes and Versus balancing. We are going to be releasing another small update shortly that contains some server issue fixes and one small, but very large, gameplay adjustment. We have made a change to the melee mechanic in Versus and the soon-to-be-released Survival Mode.

Game of the Year

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:27:06 +0000

With 2008 behind us, the gaming press has once again sorted through the year's releases and made up their annual lists for Game of the Year. Find out how Left 4 Dead ranks with IGN, GameSpot, GameSpy, 1UP, Onion AV Club, Destructoid, Kotaku, Team XBOX and more by clicking here.

L4D Art Direction, Part 2: Stylized Darkness

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:24:35 +0000

Aesthetics, fiction and gameplay: these are three criteria that we always consider when employing a new art direction for a game. With a game as dark as Left 4 Dead, this meant having to figure out a lot of new ways to use the absence of light to our advantage.

The Moviemaking Process: Left 4 Dead's Intro Movie

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:24:53 +0000

Because Left 4 Dead is a new property for us, we wanted to provide some basic player training prior to the start of the game. Traditional in-game training mechanics didn't make sense for Left 4 Dead, because they would take away from the sense that players had been immediately dropped into a very real, very dire zombie apocalypse.

Play Left 4 Dead with Valve

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:06:34 +0000

Join Left 4 Dead’s developers for a few campaigns against the zombie horde this Saturday, November 22 at 9:00 pm (EST). All you have to do is send off a game invite to one of the gamertags listed below. See you there!

L4D Roundup: Contest Results, Great Deals and Early Reviews

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:44:51 +0000

Our "Dude, Where's My Thumb?" contest finishes today. We asked hopefuls in the US and UK to submit a picture of themselves in front of a Left 4 Dead billboard for a chance to win prizes. Gabe Newell's looked through all the entries and selected 25 lucky winners

Left 4 Dead is live on Steam

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:06:10 +0000

As of midnight EST, the PC version of Left 4 Dead, Valve's zombie thriller, is now available via Steam to gamers around the globe. The title will be available for the PC and Xbox 360 at retail stores on Tuesday, November 18 in North America, and worldwide on Friday, November 21. For more information, please visit www.steamgames.com.

Update, 5:24 pm

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:24:38 +0000

Good news on the Valve Launch Box test run! There was an electrical fire, and all the bees burned to death. The bad news: several employees also perished in the fire and the game will be delayed. Just kidding! About the game. There were some burning deaths. But the game's coming out!

The End is Near...

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:01:10 +0000

Less than four hours to go until Left 4 Dead goes live at the stroke of midnight (EST) on Steam, and that means the Valve Launch Box will be dragged out of its off-season home in Gabe Newell's tool shed.

Downloadable L4D Desktop Wallpaper

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:15:02 +0000

We were going to title this post "Infect Your Desktop!" until someone remembered what a bad idea it is to put those words together in conjunction with free downloads. Our back-up title, "Put These Pictures on Your Computer," wasn't nearly as clever, so we'll just quit while we're ahead and let you download the wallpaper.

Download the Left 4 Dead Demo!

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:21:30 +0000

Left 4 Dead is finally here! Well, almost, anyway. The full game won’t be available for another week (November 18 on Steam and in retail stores across America). But you can get a taste of the blood-splattering, zombie-killing fun right now!

L4D Art Direction, Part 1: Filmic Effects

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:50:35 +0000

One of the goals of Left 4 Dead's art direction was to capture the tone and feel of being right in the middle of a horror movie. This meant making the environments look scary in a specifically cinematic way.

Left 4 Dead Intro Movie

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:53:27 +0000

Less than a week from today, everyone who pre-ordered will be playing the Left 4 Dead demo. We know! We can't believe it either. To make the wait easier, we've released the five minute movie that opens the game. Caution: The movie may actually make the wait harder. Anyway, happy Halloween.

It's the Zombie Ad-pocalypse.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:38:14 +0000

As part of our ongoing marketing campaign, we're airing a pair of commercials on network and cable television, including ABC, FOX, Spike, ESPN, MTV, Comedy Central, CBC and more. Created with footage from Left 4 Dead's opening sequence, the commercial goes live on television November 8th. But you can watch it online now!

Dude, Where's My Thumb?

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:28:06 +0000

Want to win a free copy of Left 4 Dead? How about a new gaming PC? All it takes is a snapshot of you in front of a Left 4 Dead billboard, bus, Jumbotron or other piece of outdoor advertising. So fire up your Leica and get over to the official contest page.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:28:06 +0000

Hot off of solving the global credit crisis, world leaders have turned to more important matters. They have declared this Sunday October 26th, World Zombie Day. What better way to celebrate World Zombie Day than dress up like a zombie and shamble around?

A Contest so Easy, Even a Zombie Could Win.

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 19:55:21 +0000

The guys over at Left4Dead411.com just launched a new contest today with the grand prize being four copies of Left 4 Dead. The contest is all about getting your picture taken in front of a horde of zombies.

Where can you find a horde before November 18th? Left4Dead411 has plenty of tips. Just please remember to respect the native zombies, they get hungry for brains if you anger them.

The Left 4 Dead Pre-Purchase Infection is Now On!

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:34:13 +0000

Left 4 Dead is now available for pre-purchase worldwide via Steam! As with our pre-purchase promotions for retail PC and Xbox 360, customers who pre-purchase Left 4 Dead via Steam will save 10% off the regular price. Left 4 Dead will be released at retail on PC and Xbox 360 on November 18 in North America and November 21 in Europe. The worldwide Steam release will be November 18.

Left 4 Dead Spreads Around the World

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:08:13 +0000

In Germany, lucky members of the press were able to play co-op with Gabe Newell at the Leipzig Games Convention, while Torsten Zabka manned the L4D tour bus outside.

Legoland of the Dead

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:38:10 +0000

This weekend, expert Lego Builders from all over the world will convene in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall for BrickCon 2008.

First post - Welcome to the L4D blog

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:43:31 +0000

Since we announced Left 4 Dead in late 2006, the growing online community has been a great source of feedback and support during the development process. We're planning on using this blog to talk more directly with that community - through stories, artwork, and insights into our design and development process.