KEY POINTS

  • "The Last Stand" is "Left 4 Dead 2"'s first major update in eight years
  • The new DLC is created by the L4D community, for the community
  • "The Last Stand" is scheduled to be released on September 24

For the first time in eight years, “Left 4 Dead 2” is getting a major DLC update, thanks to the valiant efforts of the L4D2 community.

It’s been more than a decade since Valve Software launched the game back in 2009. Since then, the multiplayer survival horror title only had one DLC, “Cold Stream,” a community-created add-on that was released in 2012 for the Xbox 360 and the PC.

“The Last Stand” is once again the result of the L4D community coming together to create new content for their beloved game. The new DLC, which is scheduled to be released later this month, was originally planned as a mini-map for the original game’s Survival Mode, but fans took the opportunity to breathe new life and create a dedicated game.

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Valve writer Chet Faliszek has left the company. Valve

The DLC’s project lead, who goes by the moniker “Rayman1103,” sat down with IGN and bared his thoughts on the journey of “The Last Stand.” According to Rayman, he reached out to Valve veteran developer Kerry Davis in October 2019 and talked about a “potential 10th Anniversary update” for “Left 4 Dead 2.”

While Davis liked the idea and said that he would “ask around the office to see if anyone could lend a hand,” it turned out that everyone was set in finishing “Half-Life: Alyx,” a VR FPS game set between the events of “Half-Life” and “Half-Life 2.”

Still persistent, Rayman asked Davis for the source files for the Lighthouse maps from “Left 4 Dead 1” and started forming a team composed of members of the “Left 4 Dead” community.

“What was originally planned was just a port of the Survival Maps from Left 4 Dead 1 over into Left 4 Dead 2, all the missing maps that were never ported over… Just to get whatever was missing and get it into Left 4 Dead 2,” Rayman told IGN.

Map developer “NF” said that the team felt that “The Last Stand” could be more than just “one survival map.” This gave them the push to turn their idea into a full-blown playable campaign “from beginning to end.”

“The Last Stand” DLC for “Left 4 Dead 2” will be released on September 24. It promises to bring a ton of updates, including 30 brand new achievements, 26 new survival maps, 4 new scavenge maps, 2 new melee weapons, revamped gun models and animations and PvP enhancements, among others.

Click here to watch the official trailer.

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