Left 4 Dead 2

This article is about the game. For documentation of Left 4 Dead 2 tools, see Left 4 Dead 2 Documentation.

Left 4 Dead 2

Developer(s)

Valve Corporation

Publisher(s)

Valve Corporation

Series

Left 4 Dead series

Release date(s)

November 17, 2009 

Windows, Xbox 360:
November 17, 2009
Mac OS X (macOS):
October 5, 2010
Linux:
July 2, 2013

Genre(s)

First-person shooter, Survival horror, Zombies

Mode(s)

Co-operative multiplayer

Platform(s)

Windows, macOS, Linux, Xbox 360

Engine

Source (Left 4 Dead engine branch)

Steam AppID

550

Mod support

Yes
(addons folder, Steam Workshop)

SDK

Yes (Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools)

Documentation

Left 4 Dead 2 Docs

Distribution

Retail, Xbox Marketplace, Steam

Official website

Left 4 Dead series website

Links

Steam page
Steam Workshop page
Xbox 360 Marketplace (archived)
Microsoft Store (Xbox One/Series X|S, backward compatible)

Previous game

Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to Left 4 Dead. Players are one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons. In addition to firearms, a variety of carnage-creating melee weapons have been added, from chainsaws to axes and even the exceptionally deadly frying pan. Left 4 Dead 2 also introduces new campaigns and more game modes.

History

Plans for the sequel to Left 4 Dead begins after it was released, and Valve wanted to make the game "bigger and better". Before Left 4 Dead 2 was released, some Left 4 Dead players boycott Left 4 Dead 2 and formed a Steam group called "L4D2 Boycott (NO-L4D2)", grewing over 37,000 months later when the group was created.

These complaints led to Valve marketer Doug Lombardi stated that the announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 at E3 should not be taken to indicate that Valve would no longer support the first game and asked the community to "trust them a little bit". Despite this, the boycott was later deemed a failure as users on the L4D2 Boycott group pre-ordered the game before it's release, and played the game after it was released.

Left 4 Dead 2 was released in November 17, 2009 for Windows and Xbox 360. The game was later ported to Mac in October 5, 2010, and Linux in July 2, 2013

Features

Left 4 Dead 2 runs on the updated version of Left 4 Dead engine branch, with features such as water flow maps and the VScript virtual machine for scripting.

Swaying trees

A material parameter that gives the effect of trees swaying in the wind.

VScript (in all games since )

A powerful new scripting system primarily using Squirrel.

Water flow maps (in all games since )

Water can now flow using flow maps, and water fog can now receive lightmaps.

BSP version 21

New BSP version, with modified lumps.

macOS and Linux support

The engine can now run on Mac & Linux. However, support for these OS outside of official games may be spotty.

Details

Uses the NextBot system:

• Survivor bots
• All variants of the Infected

Limitations/Bugs

Important:Like Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2 and some newer Source games will have most of the console commands & console variables restricted/hidden by default, such as mat_specular. However, you can use these commands by using VScript, example: script Convars.SetValue("mat_specular", "0").

For bug reports, see Valve's L4D2 GitHub page and L4D2 Community Update on GitHub in order to prevent duplicate or outdated bug reports at the wiki.

Content

• Left 4 Dead 2 (left4dead2)
• Left 4 Dead (left4dead)
• Left 4 Dead engine branch

Official maps/campaigns

Left 4 Dead 2 has the following official campaigns and maps included:

Toggle chapters Left 4 Dead 2 CampaignsToggle chapters
Dead Center	The Passing	Dark Carnival	Swamp Fever
1. The Hotel - c1m1_hotel 2. The Streets - c1m2_streets 3. The Mall - c1m3_mall 4. The Atrium - c1m4_atrium	1. The Riverbank - c6m1_riverbank 2. Underground - c6m2_bedlam 3. The Port - c6m3_port	1. The Highway - c2m1_highway 2. The Fairground - c2m2_fairgrounds 3. The Coaster - c2m3_coaster 4. The Barns - c2m4_barns 5. The Concert - c2m5_concert	1. Plank Country - c3m1_plankcountry 2. The Swamp - c3m2_swamp 3. Shanty Town - c3m3_shantytown 4. The Plantation - c3m4_plantation
Hard Rain	The Parish	Cold Stream
1. The Milltown - c4m1_milltown_a 2. The Sugar Mill - c4m2_sugarmill_a 3. Mill Escape - c4m3_sugarmill_b 4. Return To Town - c4m4_milltown_b 5. Town Escape - c4m5_milltown_escape	1. The Waterfront - c5m1_waterfront 2. The Park - c5m2_park 3. The Cemetery - c5m3_cemetery 4. The Quarter - c5m4_quarter 5. The Bridge - c5m5_bridge	1. Alpine Creek - c13m1_alpinecreek 2. South Pine Stream - c13m2_southpinestream 3. Memorial Bridge - c13m3_memorialbridge 4. Cut-throat Creek - c13m4_cutthroatcreek
Toggle chaptersCampaigns originally from Left 4 Dead + The Last Stand Community UpdateToggle chapters
No Mercy	Crash Course	Death Toll	Dead Air
1. The Apartments - c8m1_apartments 2. The Subway - c8m2_subway 3. The Sewer - c8m3_sewers 4. The Hospital - c8m4_interior 5. Rooftop Finale - c8m5_rooftops	1. The Alleys - c9m1_alleys 2. The Truck Depot Finale - c9m2_lots	1. The Turnpike - c10m1_caves 2. The Drains - c10n2_drainage 3. The Church - c10m3_ranchhouse 4. The Town - c10m4_mainstreet 5. Boathouse Finale - c10m5_houseboat	1. The Greenhouse - c11m1_greenhouse 2. The Crane - c11m2_offices 3. The Construction Site - c11m3_garage 4. The Terminal - c11m4_terminal 5. Runway Finale - c11m5_runway
Blood Harvest	The Sacrifice	The Last Stand (Campaign)
1. The Woods - c12m1_hilltop 2. The Tunnel - c12m2_traintunnel 3. The Bridge - c12m3_bridge 4. The Train Station - c12m4_barn 5. Farmhouse Finale - c12m5_cornfield	1. The Docks - c7m1_docks 2. The Barge - c7m2_barge 3. Port Finale - c7m3_port	1. The Junkyard - c14m1_junkyard 2. Lighthouse Finale - c14m2_lighthouse

Note:When Left 4 Dead 2 was released, only 5 campaigns (Dead Center, Dark Carnival, Swamp Fever, Hard Rain and The Parish) are available.

• In October 5, 2010, No Mercy campaign (from Left 4 Dead), was ported to Left 4 Dead 2. The Sacrifice (available on both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2, and takes place after Blood Harvest), was released.
• The rest of Left 4 Dead's campaign was later ported to Left 4 Dead 2 on March 22, 2011. That same day, Cold Stream was also released in beta state, until later fully released on July 24th, 2012 (and August 3rd, 2012 for Xbox 360).
• The Last Stand campaign is not available on the Xbox 360 version of the game.

Important:Since March - June 2023, Left 4 Dead 2 is no longer available to purchase on Xbox 360 (prior to Xbox Marketplace shutting down on Xbox 360 in July 2024). This likely also meant that later when Xbox Marketplace on Xbox 360 was shutdown, Left 4 Dead 2 DLC campaigns (The Passing, The Sacrifice, all Left 4 Dead campaigns and Cold Stream) are no longer available to purchase on Xbox 360, even on newer Xbox (Xbox One/Xbox Series X/S). Users who already purchased the DLC campaigns prior to Xbox 360 Marketplace shutdown will be able to play DLC campaigns on newer Xbox consoles.^[2]

See also

• Left 4 Dead 2 Level Creation
• List of L4D2 Entities
• L4D2 Vscripts
• List of Left 4 Dead 2 console commands and variables

External links

• Official Website
• Unofficial L4D Wiki
•  Left 4 Dead 2 on Wikipedia

References

References
1. "Watch Old L4D2 demos" by Dr. Whoop DSc https://gamebanana.com/tuts/9534. 2. Reddit Comment Q: Is there any way on Xbox to purchase lfd[sic] 2 DLCS? — u/Murky-Bonus-9468 A: No, to have access to it now, would require another Xbox Account with the DLC. — u/Bloodmang0 .