While Valve seems to have given up hope on bringing Left 4 Dead 3 to life, a series of leaked pictures show what the zombie threequel game could’ve looked like. Although there’s been plenty of talk about Left 4 Dead 3, the title has slipped into development hell over the years.
In 2008, Valve South (now Turtle Rock Rock Studios) released Left 4 Dead as a co-operative first-person shooter. Assigning players one of four “Survivors,” Left 4 Dead was a different take on the well-worn formula of zombie video games. The first game proved a hit and quickly led to a sequel, but many are confused about what happened to a possible third entry.
YouTuber Tyler McVicker shared 29 screenshots on Imgur to tease fans with the game that will never be. Aside from a Middle-Eastern kasbah setting, the images don’t give much away. With these being early renditions of an original level design, it means there isn’t a single zombie in sight or a look at the characters. The images reportedly come from a 2013 version of Left 4 Dead 3 and were created using a Source 2 engine. Apart from McVicker teasing the game was pulled in 2017, there isn’t much insight to why it happened or why fans are only seeing these screenshots now.
McVicker has previously explained how the game would’ve featured eight playable characters of different strengths and weaknesses, with Left 4 Dead 3 having crossplay support for VR. Of the eight characters, four would be brand new and the other four would be pulled from the existing Left 4 Dead games. The idea of this ties into hero shooters like Overwatch where players could assemble their own skilled team.
Only last year, a job listing at Turtle Rock teased that Left 4 Dead 3 was finally in the cards, but the rumors turned out to be false. Elsewhere, a fake Facebook profile for Valve developer Ted Carson teased Left 4 Dead 3 before it was quickly debunked. It’s important to note that Left 4 Dead 3 was never actually confirmed, meaning these screenshots (if legitimate) are the closest gamers have got to a full announcement.
Considering the popularity of Left 4 Dead 2 and its pre-order sales being 300 percent higher than its predecessor, it’s a strange turn of events that the third game never came to be. As it stands, Turtle Rock and Warner Bros. Interactive are working together to resurrect the franchise with a spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead called Back 4 Blood. Sadly, it seems that Back 4 Blood could be the final nail in the coffin for hopes of Left 4 Dead 3.
At least Left 4 Dead paved the way for more recent releases like Saber Interactive’s World War Z game and Overkill’s The Walking Dead. Even though Left 4 Dead reinvented the zombie shooter genre, it looks like Left 4 Dead 3 has really been left for dead and taken a bullet to the brain.
More: Valve Keeps Getting It Wrong, And It Doesn’t Care
Source: Tyler McVicker/Imgur
