The Left 4 Dead series remains one of the most revered shooters in gaming history, although Valve’s decision to release a sequel exactly one year after the original release seemed unwise. 14 years later, one of the developers spoke about the studio’s motives.
As a reminder, Left 4 Dead fans had exactly a year to enjoy the game before an equally well-received sequel hit the market in 2009. Deuce didn’t offer a huge technological or gameplay leap, so why didn’t Valve just continue to build on the first game?
Former employee Chet Falisek said in an interview:
“Left 4 Dead was so broken that no one even wanted to touch it. This game was iterated so quickly that we were testing it even when everything was broken and we had to load maps two or three times.”
“At some point we had to pay for it. Supporting mods for Left 4 Dead in the same way as Left 4 Dead 2 was impossible without a major reboot.”
Why didn’t Valve explain the decision during the announcement? Falisek explained that telling players about the problems of the first game while the developers are working hard on the sequel would not be the best idea.
