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.

The "Survival Pack" downloadable content for Valve's cooperative zombie shooter Left 4 Dead will be free for both PC and Xbox 360 players, the company confirmed today.

Due out this spring, the download will add a new Survival mode, in which players attempt to survive endless hordes of zombies on at least 12 maps, and allow the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns to be played in the competitive multiplayer Versus mode.

A few details on the Survival Pack DLC for Valve's multiplayer zombie shooter Left 4 Dead have squeaked out following its cryptic announcement last week.

A new Survival mode will see "up to four player set records for the longest time surviving hordes of zombies on over 12 maps," according to word from GameTrailers TV.

It was not specified if those maps will be all-new or culled from existing environments.

As was previously known, the pack will also include Versus Mode versions of the Dead Air and Death Toll campaigns when it is released this spring.

Valve announced plans to update its co-op zombie shooter Left 4 Dead (PC, X360) today, revealing that a "Survival Pack" will be released this spring.

The DLC will include a new multiplayer mode titled Survival, as well as two complete campaigns for the game's existing Versus Mode. No details regarding availability or pricing were announced, but Valve traditionally updates its PC releases for free.

Valve did not specify exactly what new content the Survival Mode will pack, aside from the new mode. The studio previously said that it was working on new scenarios.

A Critic's Choice Edition of the game will head to retail stores at the same time, offering the original game plus the Survival Pack content.

Valve also noted it will release the Software Development Kit for the game this spring. With the SDK, players will be able to create custom campaigns and levels for the game.

Distributor Electronic Arts recently revealed that Left 4 Dead has sold 1.8 million copies at retailers since the game's November 18 release. That number does not include Steam, as Valve does not release those figures publicly, or total worldwide sales.

Valve's cooperative zombie-shooter Left 4 Dead sold over 1.8 million copies at retailers in 2008, distributor Electronic Arts revealed in a conference call today.

The figure accounts for retail sales of the PC and Xbox 360 versions, but does not include those copies sold via Valve's digital distribution platform Steam.

Nor does the figure include total worldwide retail sales, as Valve reminded us that EA Partners handles its retail distribution in "most, but not all of the world."

You may remember artist Alexandria Neonakis' work from last year's Team Fortress 2 Valentine's Day cards, which featured various Team Fortress 2 characters and their burning desires.

This year, Neonakis has again applied her considerable talents toward Valving up Valventine's Day, posting a marvelous batch of Left 4 Dead-themed cards on her website.

I think my favorite is Bill's. I always pegged him as the ticklish sort.

A major update to Valve's zombie shooter Left 4 Dead was released for the PC version of the game tonight, with an Xbox 360 patch expected "in the coming weeks."

The patch addresses a variety of bugs and exploits, and also includes a few balancing tweaks to the game's Infected classes.

In particular, fans of the Smoker class in Versus mode will be pleased to note that Valve has apparently buffed its attacks, increasing the effectiveness and damage of its tongue ability.

The full patch notes follow:... Read more

The first of Hideo Kojima's upcoming unannounced projects could hit as soon as this year, according to a Weekly Famitsu interview translated by IGN.

In all, the Metal Gear series creator has a total of four unannounced projects in the works, going by the 1UP translation of the same piece. Two of those were previously mentioned, with Kojima once again affirming that he is working on "a rather challenging project I'm working on to compete against the overseas industry."

That said, the "challenging" project won't be the one unveiled in the coming months, nor is it likely to be the one he expects to arrive this year. Nothing else is known of the games, though rumors suggest the overseas-aimed title is a first-person shooter.

And while Kojima has previously discussed how first-person games make him sick, that apparently hasn't stopped him from playing Valve's recent zombie... Read more

Question: What is more terrifying than a zombie horde?

Answer: A zombie horde imbued with the soul of Macho Man Randy Savage.

Thanks, GuidoAnchovy, for your beautiful, disturbing mod.

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Update: Faliszek has confirmed to Shacknews that the update is on target for this week.

Original story: A major patch for the PC version of Left 4 Dead should arrive later this week, according to information from Valve that comes by way of forum fans.

Developer Chet Faliszek apparently detailed the patch in email responses to two fans, saying that the patch "got larger than [the team] would have liked."

"The problem on the PC side was a few large bugs affected other systems that we were going to rewrite on the PC so we ended up waiting to fix a whole class of bugs instead of just individual bugs," said Faliszek to a Steam forum member, before confirming that "the patch should be out this week."

"Also for the patching, the real key is to patch more often and not wait for everything to accumulate," added Faliszek. "Because of a perfect storm of events, this patch got larger than we would have liked and that really snowballed the time it is taking."

Valve is known for directly communicating with its fans, as previously evidenced. Shacknews has contacted Faliszek for confirmation on the quotations.