Valve aims to â??set a new benchmarkâ?? for co-op action

Valve president Gabe Newell has spoken of his ambitions with Valve’s upcoming co-op survival-horror sequel to Left 4 Dead.

Left 4 Dead 2 will be released exclusively for Xbox 360 and PC, and is set for release on November 17.

"A large part of how Left 4 Dead became 2008’s top-selling new IP on Xbox 360 and the PC was the custom-tailored gameplay made possible by the AI Director," said Newell.

"With the knowledge gained from creating the original, new technology, and a passionate team, L4D2 will set a new benchmark for cooperative action games."

Valve states that the title will feature new a new cast, boss zombies, additional co-op campaigns and more Versus campaigns, as well as maps for Survival Mode available at launch.

With the aid of a $10 million marketing campaign, the title managed to sell over 2.5 million retail copies (it sales performance via Valve’s online digital platform, Steam, has not been disclosed).

"Left 4 Dead was backed by our most aggressive advertising campaign to date, and resulted in a top 5 showing on two platforms during holiday 2008," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve.
"Left 4 Dead 2 is a larger game and will be supported with even more consumer and retail advertising programs than the original."