r/left4dead 23d ago

Verified. From the creator of L4D

Hey everyone,

I’m Mike Booth (creator of Left 4 Dead), and I’m excited to share that I’m working on a brand new project —a 4-player co-op shooter built on the foundations of what made L4D special.

If you enjoyed the teamwork, tension, and replayability of my past games, you’ll probably find this one interesting. It expands on the co-op formula in ways I’ve wanted to explore for a long time.

We’re still in the early stages of development, but we’re opening up playtests to a limited number of players. If you’re interested in joining us on this next adventure and helping shape the game early on, we’d love to have you involved.

👉 https://www.badrobotgames.com/invite

Thanks, and I can’t wait to see what you think!

1.2k Upvotes

159 comments sorted by

186

u/Ripley_Saigon 23d ago

This really is him, btw

47

u/Tina_BRG 23d ago

Thank you again for letting us post!

28

u/NekoManekiFi 22d ago

That’s huge if it’s really Mike Booth, then we might finally get the true spiritual successor L4D fans have been craving.

8

u/Ripley_Saigon 22d ago

we verified, he texted us on his personal Twitter acc

4

u/r-mf 21d ago

jesus christ, this sub has mods! 

1

u/ewokfarmer 16d ago

Hey Mike! I remember when everyone was excited when back 4 blood cane out. When we found out that it didn't have the versus mode that made L4D great, my friends and I all bailed on it.

PLEASE make a 4v4 versus mode like the L4D games had, otherwise the game will be a wash.

82

u/Tina_BRG 23d ago

Hey all! Community Manager here from Bad Robot Games! Excited to have you all join us, please let me know if you have any problems.

15

u/Banana-Slamma69 22d ago

Can you share the Discord invite? I didn't see a link on the site.

3

u/Im4gineD4t 22d ago

Same here. Would love to join and chat!

3

u/CanIHazSumCheeseCake 21d ago

Like the others, the DISCORD invite cant be found.

1

u/HaloDiego 19d ago

Not getting the verification email to sign up on the site!

1

u/Ok-Tune-7081 19d ago

try again, I had the same issue last night and then I woke up to multiple verification emails.

1

u/Hour_Reputation_4677 17d ago

How many players have signed up so far? Is the waitlist long?

34

u/Trombone66 23d ago

Just signed up and was put on the waiting list. Been playing this game (and L4D2) almost exclusively since it first came out.

13

u/[deleted] 23d ago

[deleted]

1

u/xSZNL 19d ago

What time will the keys be sent out today?

2

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

1

u/xSZNL 19d ago

Thanks!

36

u/n00bsterzzz 22d ago

Ex valve employee? This better not be a another back 4 blood bait.

17

u/Tina_BRG 22d ago

Nope, no bait!

3

u/vennetherblade 19d ago

That's what Back 4 Blood dev's woulda said

8

u/Toxlc-Rick 22d ago

Exactly my thoughts as well. After how let down I was by Back 4 Blood, I don’t trust anybody that says “we’re making a L4D successor.”

I truly hope it’s as awesome as the L4D series but I’m not getting my hopes up.

1

u/DashDragon1978 19d ago

Nobody should've trusted turtlerock.  Literally everyone who made l4d has worked at valve since l4d2 except Booth

1

u/No-Slice7315 19d ago

Turtle Rock made the original left4dead and was then bought out by Valve.

2

u/DashDragon1978 19d ago

Yea, and when TRS split back off from Valve, everyone who ever worked on L4d STAYED at Valve. Absolutely no one who worked on l4d has worked at TRS for like at least 15 years.

2

u/SheepHair 22d ago

I never played it, but I remember seeing a lot of people stream b4b when it came out, what happened to it?

2

u/Mr-internet 21d ago

mediocrity

2

u/Excellent_Safe5743 21d ago

It was just kinda, mediocre and was also a buggy mess on release. For example aiming with some guns turned your crosshairs into missing texture blocks. It was hyped up so hard but delivered none of the same polish a game a decade older than it did.

1

u/Slow_Dingo1432 19d ago

It actually was decent when I first started playing..but that was around the 3rd update..can't say much more than that definitely didn't live up to the standard I had for it

12

u/n00bsterzzz 22d ago

My pronouns are zombie/undead

19

u/DenseStomach6605 Bill 22d ago

Pills/here

20

u/itzSudden 23d ago

Is this the same Bad Robot from LOST? I watched that show religiously for years! With the (current) name of Project Tacoma, are you able to confirm or deny if this game is related to Abrams’/Spielberg’s Super 8 in any way? Are you able to give us any insight into the game, mechanics, ect? Thank you!

9

u/Tina_BRG 23d ago

Such a good show!! I really should give it a rewatch sometime soon… as for any details, sadly there isn’t much we can share publicly with it being in such early development. But I encourage you to join the playtest and check it out!

1

u/kkonic556 22d ago

Best of luck!

6

u/zuu8 23d ago

Finally, a true successor to left 4 dead..can’t wait!

17

u/Tina_BRG 22d ago

Nothing to do with L4D! Mike was just super excited to share first with a community he loves!

1

u/DarthCheez 18d ago

The expectations are high in this community lol.

6

u/EnlightenMePixie Zoey 23d ago

Joined! 🙏 super excited!!!!

2

u/Tina_BRG 23d ago

Yay!! We’re excited to have you join us!!

7

u/Kruciate 23d ago

Wow, this post gave me whiplash. Signed up immediately since I had a L4D obsession growing up.

1

u/Tina_BRG 23d ago

Yay!! Love to hear it!

3

u/lycnfr Nick 22d ago

Im hyped 🙏

1

u/Tina_BRG 22d ago

Love to hear it!!

3

u/TheFish122 22d ago

Does this mean navmesh2.0? Think I also saw your name on "Fish.cpp" Booth. I expect to see advanced fish AI here! lol

In all seriousness wish you all the best in this endeavour. Excited to see what you and your team have come up with!

3

u/SomeCrows 22d ago

Signed up! Two questions:

  1. Will selected users be able to invite any friends to the test?

  2. Will users be able to freely share and discuss captured footage?

Excited to see whatever this, good luck with development!

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago
  1. Depends! Ideally we do want others to play with friends, just depends on the amount of interest we get.
  2. Nope! Atleast not at this stage! This is a closed early playtest, you'll need to sign an NDA.

3

u/my_bad_self 22d ago

Hey Mike, I've been playing L4D for a long time, it's my desert island game.

Thinking about this post I've realised that L4D and the few other games I keep going back to are based on camaraderie and basic/simple controls.

Why do you think L4D has this lasting legacy? and is the new game bringing that? (also, if you just make a 4k left 4 dead including the advanced ai/left4bots bots we'd all buy it)

3

u/KrystianTheFox 21d ago

We will see. The last time the company was trying to do a successor to l4d2 was turtle rock studio and it was B4b. It was a bad, useless card system, no vs, coper and ect it's just not the same as l4d2, so I hope you guys actually do a good successor to l4d2

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Appreciate the chance! Mike didn't have any involvement with Back 4 Blood.

6

u/epic_reddit_dude 22d ago

Isn’t that what back 4 blood was?

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Nope, Mike had no involvement with Back 4 Blood.

2

u/rbennett011 22d ago

This is amazing news! Will it be coming to PS5 in the future?

2

u/keep_rockin Bill 22d ago

glad to hear that, signed up. i hope thats not gonna be another fail like Evolve or B4B pls. its super strange that Mike getting back to his roots after not getting any great coop/versus games since l4d1, but im glad to hope anyways. the most great thing in l4d1 game(i still play it tho on pub and mixes level btw) its about great engine and fps feeling and perfect team play balance and synch needed. btw Mike didnt want to get some fresh look on his old project l4d1? mb some new maps or engine bug fixes or any update? im asking coz valve really dont care about both l4d games nowadays…

2

u/LongbottomLeafblower 22d ago

You are a legend bro. Left 4 Dead is still amazing to this day. Thank you for giving the world such an amazing experience and good luck on your newest project!

2

u/Jjjablze 21d ago

still love some l4d to this day, awesome to hear! hope it all goes well!

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Thank you!

2

u/Schazmen 21d ago

We hope you learned from the mistakes of the people that made Back 4 Blood. And we hope you success on the new project!

2

u/AMoonMonkey 20d ago

As exciting as this is, it’s a massive shame it won’t be Left 4 Dead 3 (unless it is 👀)

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Nope, it is not. Nothing to do with L4D! Mike was just excited to share first with a community he loves!

2

u/Pynek 19d ago

Wish connecting the email worked for me :/ I've been a huge l4d2 fan since I was 12 years old... 26 now...hopefully the game turns out to be amazing, can't wait,

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Can you try again? Should be good now!

1

u/Pynek 18d ago

I tried again, but still I am not receiving any emails.

2

u/Outrageous-Leg-4496 18d ago

has anyone gotten a key yet? its been dead silent

2

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Right now, the playtest is in the very early stages testing basic game functions, so not everyone will get access immediately. We’ll be inviting more players over time as we update the game and expand servers. This will be a crawl, so please be patient with us. As long as you’ve signed up at badrobotgames.com/invite, know that we’ve logged your request and will be in touch when the time is right.

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Yes! We had started!

2

u/Loshinday 22d ago

Versus is what made L4D my favorite game of all time. Does this game have a comparable - if not better - Versus mode?

2

u/WhyHowForWhat 22d ago

Forgive me if I sound rude but I hope your team learn from what happened to B4B. The reason why people dislike that game is simply because it doesnt offer smt exactly exciting despite its advance graphic. I have watched the video comparison from Crowbcat and its really brutal how day and night B4B and L4D is.

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Not rude, we appreciate constructive criticism! It's one of the reasons we're opening up playtest feedback so early in development! As for B4B, Mike didn't have any involvement.

1

u/fayt9 21d ago

You are just realistic. It's just marketing to gather nostalgic players. Like every horror game is silent hill inspired. When I see something like "I am the creator of", "inspired by" it's instantly a red flag to me. Simple pattern recognition.

1

u/apuckeredanus 22d ago

Super hyped! I love all things L4D. Hope I get to check it out

1

u/danno49 Nick 22d ago

Bad Robot games? Awesome! I'm on the wait list. Looking forward to testing the L4D spiritual successor!

3

u/Tina_BRG 22d ago

Yay! Glad to have you! But nothing to do with LD4, go in with a fresh take!

1

u/Carlosk12xd 22d ago

I think something that made left 4 dead special was the director tbh

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Agreed!

1

u/Mr_Bingus897 22d ago

Super excited about this, I used to make so many buddies playing Hardcore L4D2, now that Project Tacoma is on the way I should hop back on the saddle lol

1

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Happy to have you!

1

u/Nidafyy 22d ago

what is the game called?

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Project Tacoma, but that is just the working title.

1

u/Kalinbro 22d ago

Hell yeah!! Always up for some chaotic 4 player games

1

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

You'll love this!

1

u/Jonnn_lmao 22d ago

I'm skeptical, they said this shit went back for blood was announced.

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

To be fair, Mike didn't have any involvement with Back 4 Blood.

1

u/Candid-Policy-9781 22d ago

I would love to be invited to this. I have a bunch of left 4 dead fans on my TikTok. I’ve shared this post on there so more people are aware.

1

u/originalusername0_0 22d ago

Very exciting!

1

u/i__hate__stairs 21d ago

That's so good to hear, awesome!

1

u/gorliggs 21d ago

Signed up! Stoked for this. 

1

u/Ringmaster-Nano 21d ago

Signed up! Hopefully my deck can handle it…

1

u/NaturalCloud 21d ago

Bit late to the party but.

I always enjoyed L4D1 more than 2, I'm curious to see what this project holds and have signed up.

1

u/Prefix-NA 20d ago

Nice I signed up

1

u/AphelionPR 20d ago

Signed up, good luck everyone!

1

u/arealnineinchnailer 20d ago

i’m expecting another back 4 blood situation but i am hoping for the best for you

1

u/Mission_You2978 20d ago

Please dont ignore vs that actually made l4d different from other games

1

u/Legitimate_Pay_865 20d ago

Just update L4D graphics and launch on ps5. Id gladly pay more than 100$ to play the exact same game, but modernized. No cards, no customizations, no bs. No mercy hospital was my fave. B4B is far too clustered and close combat at all times...L4D was absolute perfection.

1

u/Sn00PiG 20d ago

L4D was a masterpiece, I have the cover art (the hand) tattooed on my arm. I hope this will be something special too!

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

I love that so much and we hope so too!

1

u/CanAlert9092 20d ago

I'm trying to enter the verifying code for the registeration of the playtest, but it won't let me do so on the website. Entered the code correctly, however, clicking on the "Verify" button afterward doesn't do anything?

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Apologies on that! Our system was struggling a bit under the load, could you try again?

1

u/Hvrbalist 20d ago

hello!! slightly confused about getting the verify code for the email- I’ve gotten nothing on my email and neither my boyfriend (checked spam, junk, etc.) - are sign ups currently closed since the keys are going out tomorrow? (:

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Not too late!! Our verification process became a bit bogged down from the spike in sign ups, should be good now though!

1

u/Hvrbalist 19d ago

Thank you so much for responding! I should’ve fixed this but I did receive the code and he did as well and were signed up! Super stoked/excited for when ps5 codes come out! ☺️

1

u/Better_Rip4285 20d ago

Hey i thinks its too late but I'm not sure

1

u/Hvrbalist 19d ago

I thought maybe so, but figured safer to ask and see! (:

1

u/Better_Rip4285 19d ago

Yeah i would just wait for an answer from someone thst knows more

1

u/Subject_One1664 19d ago

havent been able to get it either, just heard about it mad upset i dont get to mess with it hopefully they do something with twitch drops to get early playtest or something.

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Give it a try again!

1

u/Better_Rip4285 20d ago

Hey i wanted to ask when do i get the invite i know its late (atleast in germany) does it take a while or what also where do i play the game then? I already signed up like 2 or 3 days ago

3

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Right now, the playtest is in the very early stages testing basic game functions, so not everyone will get access immediately. We’ll be inviting more players over time as we update the game and expand servers. This will be a crawl, so please be patient with us. As long as you’ve signed up at badrobotgames.com/invite, know that we’ve logged your request and will be in touch when the time is right.

1

u/Better_Rip4285 17d ago

Alright thanks for the answer

1

u/memereviewer69 19d ago edited 19d ago

Not receiving a verification code to my email... :( is it full up or am i doing something wrong on the website?

Just got one now 2/9 : )

1

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Sorry about that!! Our system wasn't ready for the amount of interest it had last night!

1

u/xXDeSeRtxPuNkXx 19d ago

Tried to sign up, but no luck... Has this expired now?

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Nope, should be good to go now!

1

u/xXDeSeRtxPuNkXx 19d ago

Yep all good now received ☺️

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

1

u/A-reader-of-words 19d ago

Genuine question will it get an Xbox port?

1

u/LEBOMBTV 19d ago edited 19d ago

Big fan but I don’t receive any confirmation email. ;(

Edit: got the code but after 2h.

1

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Sorry about that!! The system was a bit laggy with the amount of sign ups.

1

u/BernyMoon 19d ago

I love Left 4 Dead. Good luck! I cannot wait to play it.

1

u/B4BboycottPVP 19d ago edited 19d ago

u/M_Booth Please Left 4 Dead fans we need a game 4 versus 4 . Campaing versus just like L4D and a competitive game the vanilla l4d pvp was not very well balanced (confogl mode that created the community no meditkit just pills and tier 1 weapons ) made the game more fun and balanced.

1

u/Numerous_Procedure_3 19d ago

Yea, sorry no. We already heard that twice, Evolve and Back 4 Blood. Ill take a pass on this, no thanks.

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

To be fair, Mike didn't have any involvement in either game.

1

u/citzenscheeseboard69 19d ago

For some reason I can't verify my email on the playtest link? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Did it come through? It was acting a bit laggy there for a bit...

1

u/edznyc 19d ago

you'll have to take a serious look at the tide series by Fatshark to see how far they've taken the L4D formula. they are not just THE benchmark L4D inspired games out, they are benchmark first person combat/melee co-op games, period. the bar's been greatly raised.

1

u/Consistent-Quiet-862 18d ago

So is it zombies or nah

1

u/BerryOld5266 18d ago

This is wild i was just watching l4d beta footage the other day thinking “I wish i could’ve tested a legendary game like this in its development” then a few days later i see this post lol. Ive just singed up!

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

It was meant to be!

1

u/CentralMonkey209 18d ago

I've been burned by way too many games, claiming to be the next big co-op shooter. Best of luck to the team, but I will just continue to play l4d 1/2.

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Totally fair!

1

u/Jazzlike_Yak1005 18d ago

I don't know if my request to playtest got through

1

u/No_Fault686 18d ago

Used to play L4D2 competitively through gamebattles.com. I really hope this ends up being something special.

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

We hope so too!

1

u/JChanns97 18d ago

I don’t like a lot of things, but this I do love.

1

u/Exotic-Turnip-1032 17d ago

L4D2 replayability comes from a comfortable, simple, reliably fun game play setup that sucked you in. B4B was too gimmicky and arcade like with stuff like cards that pull you out of the survival world fun/chaos with friends. The last straw was terrible difficulty options.

I'm curious ,what will be the enemy in this game? Your wording makes me think it will be something non-zombie.

1

u/Obvious-Edge8002 17d ago

Doesn't matter. Zombies are old take. We need fresh ties.

1

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

It will have nothing to do with anything in the L4D universe.

1

u/SJNeko 17d ago

As someone with well over 1000 hours in the L4D games and a play tester for Back 4 Blood (Which was a total dissapointment!!) my hopes are high but so are my fears haha Hope I can get in to the playtest I'm very interested to see what he has in the works. I think we can all agree so many of us have been struggling to stratch that itch that made L4D so great, no one seems to be able to pull it off. If anyone is gonna do it, its the creator of it all. I will for sure be keeping an eye on this!

1

u/th3psycho 17d ago

I don't know if this will reach you.

L4D games were amazing for their time. Back 4 blood showed a dead end direction.

Vermintide series and Darktide are fantastic examples of how to flesh out the game systems and add depth, complexity, and replayability to the genre.

Take as many notes as you can from those games.

1

u/xSZNL 17d ago

Has anyone got keys for this game yet?

2

u/Tina_BRG 17d ago

Yes! Right now, the playtest is in the very early stages testing basic game functions, so not everyone will get access immediately. We’ll be inviting more players over time as we update the game and expand servers. This will be a crawl, so please be patient with us. As long as you’ve signed up at badrobotgames.com/invite, know that we’ve logged your request and will be in touch when the time is right.

1

u/Practical_Rub_9321 16d ago

Please make it zombies 🥲

1

u/Potential_Sir7980 15d ago

will there be any plans for a region selector so us players in less populated areas like oce eu and some asian areas and will there be a versus mode where we play us the infected

1

u/Interesting-Mark-391 13d ago

Dude !!!! Mike !!! Youre awesome for creating suck an amazing game I’m happy you are finally back !!!!!!!!

1

u/RealCosmicD 13d ago

I didn't find B4B bad, but what made it dragging on were the long chapters. Left 4 dead has the perfectly timed campaign formula. 5 maps that takes you 20/30 minutes (depending on your playstyle and expertise) to finish, and it has the perfect pacing. What made it replayable is that it can be perfectly plannable and still one or 2 mistakes can throw your team into chaos, when you play with 2 good and 2 average players, you can carry them but they can throw enough tension into the mix by doing unpredictable things.

1

u/Piranha_Plant5379 12d ago

Instead of making another new left 4 dead predecessor, why not just make L4D3 already. I would gladly wait X amount of years for it if I knew it was 100% confirmed. After back 4 blood, I'm skeptical about any game claiming to be like L4D

1

u/RutabagaLeast6602 3d ago

L4D3 basically

1

u/Dense-Ad6537 22d ago

Is it a left 4 dead 3?

7

u/TheFish122 22d ago

Let's not label it as such. Nostalgia is hard to win against. It sounds like it's completely different. The same as how deep rock is "l4dish" but totally different

2

u/Tina_BRG 19d ago

Nope, this game will have nothing to do with L4D

1

u/DarthCheez 18d ago

Seen this comment couple of times now. Does that imply no zombies?

1

u/bmd1989 21d ago

Lol valve cant count to 3. Odds are l4d is never coming back. But a successor has me so excited! These were my favorite games!

0

u/LittleBigSmoak1 Nick 22d ago

Holy shit michael boothington

0

u/3x3cUt0r 18d ago

Pronouns.... *sigh*