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

Publisher(s)

Valve

Series

Left 4 Dead series

Release date(s)

November 17, 2009 

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

Genre(s)

First-person shooter, Survival horror, Zombies

Mode(s)

Co-operative multiplayer

Platform(s)

Windows, Xbox 360, macOS, Linux

Engine

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 a co-op first person shooter. The game is a sequel to  Left 4 Dead. Players are one of four new survivors armed with a wide and devastating array of classic and upgraded weapons, fighting against hordes of zombies known as the Infected. 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 features new campaigns and more game modes, along with improvements to Left 4 Dead engine branch. The game received a major update in 2020, known as The Last Stand Community Update, which brings various bug fixes, new features and content to the game.

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 OS X (macOS) in October 5, 2010, and Linux in July 2, 2013.

In 2020, a major Left 4 Dead 2 update, The Last Stand Community Update, was released in September 24, 2020. This updates brings major bug fixes, UI improvements, The Last Stand campaign (based on the L4D1's Survivor map with the same name), brings Versus Survival to the Main Menu, which was formerly a mutation gamemode, 26 new Survival maps based on Left 4 Dead and the previously hidden Left 4 Dead 2 survival maps, 4 new Scavenge arenas based on L4D, 30 additional new achievements, two new Mutations: "RocketDude" and "Tank Run". The update also brings the Counter-Strike: Source weapons (once exclusive to German version due to censorship law or by playing with someone that owns a German copy of the game) to all users in any country. The update also adds other changes which can be seen on this page.

Features

Water flow maps in Left 4 Dead 2.

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 now has flow appearance by using flow maps which simulate water flowing, 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

Other versions of Left 4 Dead 2

Demo version

The demo version only features two playable maps, taking place in the The Parish campaign.

On PC, while demo version of the game is no longer available (after release), the Xbox 360 demo version is still playable, but has been delisted due to the shutdown of Xbox 360 Marketplace, and the demo version is not available on newer Xbox consoles via backward compatibility (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S).

Console version

Similar to Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2 was only released for the Xbox 360 console.

The Xbox 360 version, aside from graphical differences, is nearly identical to the PC version before 2013, but there are some differences:

• Menu: Menus are now identical on both platform, however in PC version, after The Last Stand update in 2020, slightly changed the quit message and moved Singleplayer option (which was originally separated) to "Play Campaign", "Play Survival" or "Play Realism".
• Downloadable Content and updates: Similar to Left 4 Dead, the console version of the game received all content updates (such as new campaigns) up to 2012 (Cold Stream). However unlike the PC version which was free, these downloadable content must be purchased on the Xbox 360. Additionally, the console version did not received any engine updates or bug fixes, only receiving content updates. Later in 2020, the PC version received The Last Stand community update, which was exclusive to PC only.
• Multiplayer: Xbox 360 version - online features are powered by Xbox Live (requires Xbox Game Pass Core subscription, formerly Xbox Live Gold), and PC version is powered by Steam. Both servers are still active as of 2026.

The Xbox 360 version is backward compatible with Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, with resolution enhancements (up to 4K) on Xbox One X (or Series X/S), however the game is no longer available digitally on Xbox 360, since it was delisted around March - May 2023 for unknown reasons, even before Xbox 360 Marketplace was shutdown in June 2024. The game is also not available for purchase digitally on modern Xbox consoles. Obtaining physical copy of the game is now the only way to play it on Xbox 360 or modern Xbox consoles. Additionally, with the Xbox 360 Marketplace completely shutdown and DLCs no longer available on newer Xbox consoles, if you haven't purchased the DLCs prior it being delisted along with Xbox 360 Marketplace completely shutdown, you are no longer able to get them.

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:

Expand/Collapse  Left 4 Dead 2 CampaignsExpand/Collapse
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
Expand/CollapseCampaigns originally from  Left 4 Dead + The Last Stand Community UpdateExpand/Collapse
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 - c10m2_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) were available.

• In October 5, 2010, the 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, taking place after Blood Harvest), was released.
• The rest of  Left 4 Dead's campaigns were later ported to Left 4 Dead 2 on March 22, 2011. That same day, Cold Stream was also released in a beta state, until later being 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.
• All of these new campaigns and L4D1 campaign port are released as an update on PC, and as a optional paid DLC on Xbox 360.

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). As the Xbox Marketplace on Xbox 360 has been shutdown, the 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 before the 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

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 .

External links

• Official Website
• Unofficial Wiki
• Article about the game on Wikipedia