LEFT 4 DEAD 2 GAME ADD-ON #1 ANNOUNCED


"The Passing" Brings L4D1 Survivors Down South



December 14, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first game add-on for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), is in development and targeted for release in early 2010.

Dubbed "The Passing," the first game add-on for L4D2 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.

Targeted for release in early spring, "The Passing" takes place just after the Dead Center campaign of L4D2. Set in a small town in rural Georgia, players assume the role of the L4D2 Survivors as they meet with the L4D1 characters.

In addition to the new co-operative campaign and associated narrative, "The Passing" will include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge mode and introduce a new co-operative challenge mode of play. The Passing will also include a new "uncommon common" zombie class, melee weapon, and firearm.

"The Passing will become the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "It will also be a huge offering of new gameplay content, with something new for every game mode plus a new uncommon common and weaponry."

Exclusively available for the Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 sets a new benchmark for co-operative action games. The title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.

With the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Finally, with new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and the new competitive game mode, Scavenge.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing is targeted for release in early spring for the PC and Xbox 360. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.

For more information, please visit www.l4d.com

So what's the appropriate greeting for when you pass another survivor in the zombie apocalypse? We'll find out next month, when Valve plans to release the first Left 4 Dead 2 DLC campaign, "The Passing," on Xbox 360 and PC. The Passing will feature non-playable appearances by the original Left 4 Dead cast (those shadowy figures in the background there), who will aid L4D2's four survivors during the third act of the new campaign, which is set in rural Georgia.

Not one to leave holes in a good story, Valve will explain the original survivors' frantic journey to Georgia by way of -- yes, it's really happening -- a new DLC add-on for Left 4 Dead 1 (not compatible with L4D2). No additional details were provided about the upcoming L4D1 DLC by Valve at X10 today, but it will follow the release of The Passing campaign and a digital comic (illustrated by Michael Avon Oeming) that will tie together the two DLC stories.

Additionally, Valve confirmed that The Passing will also include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge modes, and a new co-op challenge mode. Players will also encounter a new "uncommon common" infected, dubbed the Fallen Survivor, which can drop random items when killed. The Passing is currently on track for a "late March" release.

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.

First up, the Midnight Riders collide with Rock Band. The gang over at Harmonix have released two Midnight Riders's songs for Rock Band! You can check them out here and download them in game to play in the comfort of your own home. "The Passing" will feature a brand new slow power ballad; "Save Me Some Sugar".

What happens when a 1939 film classic collides with Left 4 Dead? Check out Agnostes' awesome Left 4 Dead campaign poster he made for a Wizard of Oz concept art contest to find out.

What happens when Half-Life 2: Episode one collides with Left 4 Dead 2? Mixmedia's City 17. Alyx would be proud.

What about TF2 and L4D2 colliding? That would be Jsparakov's Badwater Basin map. And for worlds colliding into worlds colliding, check-out TF2's and Sam & Max's collision currently going on.

So enough worlds colliding, when is "The Passing" coming out? Well... if it was coming out next week we would say right here - Left 4 Dead 2's The Passing is coming out next week and we will be updating the blog next week with more news on the release. There you go.

So, as of 4-16, this is coming out next week.