The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a jolly fascinating place but too expensive to visit and far too terrifying to tour virtually in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. Thankfully, some kindly modders are treating us to a slightly friendlier whistlestop tour of Pripyat with Dniepr, a Left 4 Dead 2 custom campaign released today after three years of development.

Watch: Adventures in the Mall Of Ukraine »

Valve has offered a treat to Linux users with the release of a Left 4 Dead 2 beta. A Portal beta for Linux is also available, but Valve has been a bit mum on that release. If you own any of those three games, the betas should appear in your Steam library.

Read more: Extended Mutation System included »

You try hurrying when your knees are splintered and tear rotten flesh with every step. After almost three years of development, Source mod Zombie Master 2 launched over the weekend. The follow-up drags the asymmetrical multiplayer RTS-FPS into the Orange Box version of Valve's engine with new features t'boot.

Read more: Humans play FPS, zombie master plays RTS »

Valve loves collaborating with third-party partners whenever they come a-knocking. Capcom has announced that the upcoming PC version of Resident Evil 6 will have cross-over features with Left 4 Dead 2. Best of all, the cross-over features will be free for players of either game to access and play.

Read more: The Witch in RE6, the Ogroman in L4D2 »

Valve is adding another community campaign to its official Left 4 Dead 2 servers, "Warcelona." It joins the other recent campaign, Cold Stream, but the bulk of today's update is news on how the new Workshop features will simplify finding campaigns to play.

Read more: Workshop allows one-click subscription »

We're fast-approaching the celebration of gluttony and cheap costuming that is Halloween, wherein we scare ghosts and demons back into the spirit world by dressing up like political figures and scantily clad nurses. Left 4 Dead 2 is a little on the spooky side, so Valve is letting you trick your treats with a free weekend of the game.

Read more: New achievement for current players »

Attentive horror fans may have spotted the bilious Boomer and other Left 4 Dead monsters snuck into Joss Whedon's delightful scare 'em up movie The Cabin in the Woods, but L4D's involvement was once supposed to be far greater. Director Drew Goddard has revealed that a CitW expansion was planned for Left 4 Dead 2, but sadly got scrapped. Plainly, this post contains spoilers for the film, which you really should see if you haven't.

Read more: "Porting Cabin into Left For Dead felt like the right fit" »

Steam is putting its Workshop tools to work once again, this time with Left 4 Dead 2. The update is planned for sometime in mid-October, giving creators more tools and users more variety of content to sample, along with one intriguing-sounding method of integrating the content.

Read more: 'Seamless' integration with L4D world »

Left 4 Dead 2 isn't dead yet. As promised, the Cold Stream update is finally coming to Xbox 360--and soon. It will hit tomorrow on Xbox Live Marketplace.

Read more: Passing DLC required for Mutations »

If you've been waiting for the right time to bite on Left 4 Dead 2, your patience has paid off. Valve has just released a hefty new update, just as it puts the game on sale for 75% off. This also comes among a tease of several new L4D-related updates coming soon.

Read more: Community campaigns, Minecraft crossovers, and more »

Valve has muttered and murmured about bringing Steam and its Source engine to Linux before, and now it's revealed the plan--port Steam and Left 4 Dead 2 to Ubuntu 12.04, then work from there. Steam will come to Linux in all its glory, and Valve's building a speedy OpenGL version of Source it can use for more of its games too.

Read more: No timeframe for when it'll launch »

After over a year of public testing, Valve will officially launch Left 4 Dead 2's 'Cold Stream' DLC later this month. It packs versions of original Left 4 Dead campaigns Blood Harvest, Crash Course, Dead Air and Death Toll, as well as the community-made Cold Stream. On top of that, a patch launching alongside will make all of the game-altering mutations available at all times.

Read more: Arriving July 24 »

Update: Valve comments on the DLC.

Overkill Software promised it was working on a Left 4 Dead thing. Well, here it is.

The developer has released a new video, showcasing Payday: The Heist - No Mercy. There's no word on what it is exactly, but it appears to be a DLC expansion of SOE's online shooter.

Watch: Go back to Mercy Hospital »

It's all go at Payday: The Heist developer Overkill Software these days. As well as working on a sequel and DLC for its coop crime caper FPS, and being acquired by Starbreeze Studios, the Swedes have revealed they're working with Valve on something Left 4 Dead-y.

Read more: But what are they working on? »

It seems like Valve is committed to bringing its prized digital distribution service Steam to Linux users at some point in the relatively near future. Recent news indicates that Valve has not only hired Linux developers to help port Steam and the Source engine to the OS, but Valve's Gabe Newell is now overseeing the port.

Read more: Porting Steam and Source to Linux »