Though Left 4 Dead 2 is slated to arrive on PC and Xbox 360 come November 17, developer Valve has reaffirmed that it will continue to support the original edition of its cooperative zombie shooter with as-yet-unspecified downloadable content.

"More info will be coming shortly on the [Left 4 Dead 1] DLC," Valve's Chet Faliszek told Shacknews, adding that the DLC will come in addition to enhancements, such as the promised team-based matchmaking update for the first Left 4 Dead.

"We plan to keep supporting Left 4 Dead 1," Valve marketing VP Doug Lombardi recently told CVG. "I think folks took our [E3] announcement [of Left 4 Dead 2] as a sign that we were dropping Left 4 Dead 1 and that's just not the case."

Lombardi noted that "there will be some announcements coming before summer's out about what's coming there," explaining that the internet's vocal... Read more

An update released today for Valve's zombie shooter Left 4 Dead allows users to easily download and play custom campaigns.

Content creators will now package their maps into a single .VPK file, which users can install with a simple double-click.

Players can manage their add-ons and campaigns within the game. Valve has also added matchmaking, leaderboards and auto-update/download support for custom maps.

Check below for the full patch notes:... Read more

Through the Left 4 Dead Blog, Valve has announced it will release a new update for its zombie shooter some time next week.

Focusing on custom campaigns, the update will provide mod authors with non-beta mod tools, which will now include source files for all of Valve's campaign maps, along with an example campaign add-on tutorial map.

The update will also allow content creators to use a new framework that will package their campaign content into a single .VPK file. These can then be installed by double clicking on them, or dropping them into Left 4 Dead's new 'addons' folder.

Lastly the update will rework the game's matchmaking system, providing support for these custom campaigns, while also making it easier to create a lobby.

The software development kit for Valve's zombie shooter Left 4 Dead were released to open beta today.

The SDK mod tools are now freely available to all owners of the game through Steam.

Valve has also released SketchUp Source tools, which allows modders to create content for the Source engine using Google SketchUp.

The full list of kit features follows:

• Updated Hammer, the Source level editor
• Suite of command line compiling utilities, such as studiomdl... Read more

Update: Valve has extended the free trial until 1pm EDT / 10am PDT on Saturday.

Original: With the full version of Left 4 Dead free-to-play until 7:59 PM EDT / 4:59 PM PDT today, developer Valve has kicked off a weekend-long 40% off sale on the PC edition.

That brings the price of the cooperative zombie shooter down to $23.99 in the United States. Thanks to a recent price drop, that means it's cheaper than ever before on Steam, with a previous $24.99 sale having brought about a 3000% sales increase.

The studio also announced that a new statistics page is available via Steam Community, enabling players to glimpse a multitude of gameplay-related figures, including weapon usage, accuracy, pill consumption, and damage dealt to teammates.

Thanks to Shacker ajvitaly for the tip.

Valve today announced that it will run a 24-hour free trial for its popular multiplayer shooter Left 4 Dead this Friday.

The trial will begin on Friday at 12:01 am GMT (8:01 pm EDT Thursday), and will include the recent Survival pack content. Those interested can pre-load the content ahead of time on Steam.

The first post-Survival patch for Left 4 Dead has gone live, fixing a number of exploits and bugs introduced in the free update.

The patch notably addresses exploits on several Survival mode maps. Tank-spawning bugs and leaderboard issues have also been alleviated.

The full list of changes:

• Darkened the Lighthouse background movie and increased the contrast with the user interface elements
• Chapter selection is now available when creating a Survival lobby
• Single player coop now works correctly after... Read more

The free Survival Pack update for Valve's multiplayer zombie-killer Left 4 Dead has been released on PC, following the debut of the Xbox 360 downloadable content this morning.

The update adds a new fast-paced Survival Mode and 16 specialized maps to the game, and enables the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns to be played in Versus Mode.

Valve notes that both the PC and Xbox 360 editions of Left 4 Dead are "now available for a special price," with Steam selling the PC version at $39.99, a $10 price drop.

Patch notes for the PC version follow. Oddly, the notes don't mention the addition of the two campaigns to Versus, but Shacknews can confirm they have indeed been added.

Survival Mode
• New gameplay Mode
• 16 maps including Last Stand... Read more

Release dates? They're okay. But release hours? Much better. Thankfully, Valve has decided to indulge us, providing more details as to when Left 4 Dead will be updated.

The free Survival Pack DLC arrives on Xbox 360 tomorrow "at roughly 2am PST," bringing the fast-paced Survival mode to zombie-killers alongside the long-awaited addition of the Dead Air and and Death Toll campaigns to Versus.

PC owners will have to wait, but, assuming all goes to plan, not for long. According to Valve, the PC debut of the free add-on is "targeted for release later in the day."

Developer Valve has confirmed that the free Left 4 Dead Survival Pack downloadable content will arrive PC next week alongside the April 21st-due Xbox 360 release.

The DLC adds a new Survival Mode, a faster-paced game mode that has players facing off against increasingly frequent waves of the undead across 12 specialized maps.

Valve's testers had yet to have a match last longer than nine minutes as of early March, and it seems that anything over 14 minutes will be ridiculously impossible, as the L4D Blog points out that Tanks will spawn every 14 seconds or sooner at... Read more

Team-based matchmaking for Left 4 Dead's Versus mode is coming in a future patch, according to the latest post on the game's official blog.

Support for third-party campaigns, as well as tweaks to the skill-based matchmaking system, are also in order.

Valve further notes that the Left 4 Dead software development kit, or SDK, will be released shortly after the April 21 debut of the Survival Pack update.

Valve's Zoid Kirsch elaborates:

To support the SDK, we are extending the matchmaking system to allow for third party campaigns. We will be adding extra features... Read more

"Unfortunately the game is really like an evil Gilligan's Island. They never escape."

Valve designer Michael Booth is taking a crowd of followers through the evolution of Left 4 Dead, step by step. For instance, it began as a series of boxes.

"This game started out as a world full of grey boxes, and it got pretty fun as a world full of grey boxes," said Booth of the all-important playtesting phase. "If you can make a world full of grey boxes fun, then you've got something good."

But how did Left 4 Dead become the 2.5 million-plus seller that it is... Read more

Valve's cooperative zombie shooter Left 4 Dead has now sold over 2.5 million copies since its November debut, project lead Michael Booth revealed today.

The update came as part of Booth's GDC presentation on the game.

That tally includes both the PC and Xbox 360 releases, but does not include sales from Valve's digital distribution platform Steam. The company has a long-standing policy of not revealing Steam sales figures, though a recent discount saw sales jump 3000%.

According to a Microsoft press release issued this morning, Left 4 Dead's Survival Pack DLC will be released on April 21. This release concerned the Xbox 360 version but Valve traditionally releases its PC content in a timely manner, and has previously stated that it will come by April 21.

The free Survival Pack adds the new Survival game mode, where players are given time to dig in before fending off unceasing zombie hordes in an attempt to survive as long as possible. Survival Mode is played on 12 new maps--11 being sections of existing levels and 1 created especially for Survival Mode, Lighthouse.

The Survival Pack also brings Versus mode to the final two co-op campaigns, Dead Air and Death Toll. This release coincides with the release of Left 4 Dead: Critics Choice Edition, which contains the original game plus the Survival Pack.

Valve has been contacted for confirmation of the PC release date.

Valve today released a fairly large update to its zombie shooter Left 4 Dead, changing a number of gameplay elements and fixing a few bugs.

The majority of the alterations were made to the game's Versus mode, including several fixes to the Tank class. The winning team in Versus will also now get to play as the Survivors at the beginning of a round.

For a look at the patch notes, click on through:... Read more

The forthcoming Survival mode downloadable content for Left 4 Dead will arrive no later than April 20, developer Valve informed IGN. Specifically, the DLC will debut sometime before the Left 4 Dead: Critics Choice Edition re-release hits retail on April 21.

The free PC and Xbox 360 download adds the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns to the game's competitive Versus mode, and also adds a new fast-paced Survival mode.

The site also provided a few new details on Survival mode, revealing that 11 of the 12 Survival maps are culled from existing materials, with the new map called Lighthouse.

Upon starting a Survival match, players can explore and gather equipment for as long as they want before activating the zombie horde. However, the game will spare no time in unleashing multiple special zombies--a tank, boomer, smokers and a hunter assaulted IGN simultaneously, and it's apparently possible for two tanks to spawn at once.

Valve added that none of its testers have lasted over nine minutes in a Survival match.

Valve today released an update to the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead, including a "host of fixes, tweaks and new features."

The patch encompasses a number of fixes seen in the last patch of the PC version, including class balancing and Witch regularity.

The full patch notes follow:... Read more

Media Molecule's innovative platformer LittleBigPlanet (PS3) took top honors at the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awards, held last night at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas.

The title took Overall Game of the Year, in addition to Console Game of the Year, Family Game of the Year, and achievements in Game Direction, Art Direction, Visual Engineering, Character Performance and Innovation in Gaming. The Sackboy himself took home the award for Outstanding Character Performance.

Valve's Left 4 Dead also did well, winning the Computer Game of the Year category and being recognized for its achievements in Online Game Play.

The full list of categories and winners follows:... Read more

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell announced during a DICE keynote today that last weekend's half-price sale of Left 4 Dead resulted in a 3000% increase in sales of the game, posting overall sales that beat the title's original launch performance.

Newell also mentioned that new Steam customers jumped 1600% over the same weekend, according to G4TV. Retail sales remained constant.

Sales of Team Fortress 2 went up 106% following a free update to the game. Retail wasn't left out in this case, with sales jumping 28%.

The massive Steam holiday sale was also a big win for Valve and its partners. The following holiday sales data was released, showing the sales breakdown organized by price reduction:

• 10% sale = 35% increase in sales (real dollars, not units shipped)
• 25% sale = 245% increase in sales
• 50% sale = 320% increase in sales
• 75% sale = 1470% increase in sales

Furthermore, Valve has hired an experimental psychologist to maximize the excitement of Steam sales and other marketing opportunities. According to Newell, one suggestion by the psychologist was to provide one free copy of a Valve game to every 25th buyer of Left 4 Dead.

Continuing its tradition of weekend sales, Valve is now offering the PC version of Left 4 Dead for $24.99 via its digital distribution platform Steam, 50% off the usual price. Released this past November on PC and Xbox 360, Left 4 Dead packs four zombie-killing campaigns, playable in single-player or four-person coopertaive multiplayer, with two of those campaigns also playable in the competitive eight-player Versus mode.

A free update due out later this spring will add the ability to play the other two campaigns, Dead Air and Death Toll, in Versus, along with a new Survival mode.