Like a pesky head chilly that by no means fairly clears, Left 4 Dead 3 rumours returned to clog the web airways once more this week. After all, Valve are making games once more. Between the shock announcement of Half-Life: Alyx and one other wave of leaked idea artwork for an infectious Left 4 Dead threequel, there was fleeting hope that the incredible co-op shooter was, maybe, able to make its return.
But Valve’s gone and nipped all the way down to the pharmacy for some fast ache aid. They’ve confirmed that Left 4 Dead Three isn’t within the playing cards proper now – and hasn’t been for a while.
Ground zero for the newest spherical of rumours was HTC China president Alvin Wang Graylin, taking to Twitter this week with slides from a current speak on VR’s future. Tucked away amongst staggering claims about “super-intelligent” VR-powered people and suspending retirement with plastic headsets, Graylin speculated that Half-Life: Alyx and “LFD3” can be VR’s break-out hits this 12 months.
Just a few slides from my speak tonight… pic.twitter.com/bHegijjZW1
— Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青) (@AGraylin) January 17, 2020
A head honcho at Valve’s former VR accomplice (the 2 companies labored collectively on Valve’s first headset, the HTC Vive), slipping in point out of Left 4 Dead 3? That couldn’t simply be blind hypothesis, proper?
Turns out, even the president of a worldwide tech agency isn’t above dipping into the ol’ Valve News Network rumour-mill. Digging into older tweets, Graylin’s perception seems to stem from from a VNN-sourced article about small items of L4D-related code buried in Dota 2 and Underlords again in December.
In an uncharacteristically fast response, Valve confirmed that information of Left 4 Dead’s return had been tremendously exaggerated through a statement to IGN.
“We’ve seen rumours to this impact for the final couple of months. We did briefly discover some Left 4 Dead next-gen alternatives a number of years in the past. But we’re completely not engaged on something L4D associated now, and haven’t for years.
“It’s clear some people are having fun creating misinformation to spin up the community and other outlets. Unfortunately, for now, a new L4D game is not something we’re working on.”
Valve often salvage property from one game to the following, and if a Left 4 Dead 3 (or one thing related) did exist sooner or later, it will clarify why snippets of code hold cropping up elsewhere. Graylin, for his half, did later clarify that any mention of L4D3 was “personal speculation” and apologised to followers “who may have mistook this as confirmation.”
Ah, effectively. Valve won’t be curious about filling Left 4 Dead’s rotting boots anytime quickly, however they won’t even must. Series creators Turtle Rock Studios are announced their own follow-up, Back 4 Blood.
For my cash, Vermintide 2‘s meaty rat-smacking has been burning the co-op horde-slaughter torch brighter than Left 4 Dead ever did for years anyway.
