For the beneficial part of a decade , gamers have anticipated an announcement forLeft 4 stagnant 3 ,    but a spiritual heir know asBack 4 Bloodwill be come out soon instead . First revealed during The Game Awards 2020 , the preview forBack 4 Bloodcame with all the familiarLeft 4 Deadingredients , only to drop the   similar - but - differentBack 4 Bloodtitle card at the end . So , why is n’t the game just calledLeft 4 idle 3 ?

Given theLeft 4 Deadfranchise ’s second instalment has enjoy remarkable staying great power long after the zombie genre peaked in the other 2010s , it would ’ve made stark sense for Valve to bring out a modernized take on the four - player co - op horror game .   To many , Turtle Rock’sBack 4 Bloodtrailer may have seemed like just that , as it featured four wise - check characters , each with a different artillery ; horde of snake god and several overcome mutants , a la the Tank and Charger ; andLeft 4 Dead ’s touch gameplay , which emphasizes invariant progression as much as catgut - blasting carnage . Because of the similarity , many have since question just how muchBack 4 Bloodwould resemble a potentialLeft 4 bushed 3 .

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A character holding a trunk in art from Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

While some longtime fans may be disappointed there ’s noLeft 4 beat 3,the recentBack 4 Bloodbeta has proved just how muchBack 4 BloodandLeft 4 Deadare similar , despite some PvP differences and the lack of a drive . In terms of gameplay and design , Back 4 Bloodfeels like what aLeft 4 Dead 3would’ve been like . All the same , especially with such similar gameplay and a deed with the number   four slap right in the midway ,   many devotee are likely wondering why it is n’t just part of Valve ’s classic franchise . Why isn’tBack 4 Blood will 4 Dead 3 ?

Back 4 Blood Looks Like Left 4 Dead 3 In All But Name

The first reason is well-defined : Valve explicitly stated in the first place in 2020 that a properLeft 4 Dead 3is not in growing , despite the brush of hearsay to the contrary that circulated for years . Barring the standard jape about Valve not being able to make a third biz for any of   its franchises , it would be a unusual move for a studio to deter players from skip to play a specific biz , only to then corroborate its existence almost a year later .

Valve also releasedLeft 4 idle 2 ’s first major updatein eight years in 2020 . That update , which have a whole new hunting expedition , 20 new survival maps , novel mutations , and new melee weapons , was made in quislingism with the community . That willingness to give the lover what they require can be construed as a substitute for an actual third plot , so it would n’t make much sentiency for a numbered sequel likeLeft 4 idle 3to issue forth flop after it .

More importantly , however , Back 4 Bloodisn’t being made by Valve right . Rather , it ’s the production of Turtle Rock Studios , which was to begin with established in 2002 and acquired by Valve in 2008 . For a brief stop , during which it released the firstLeft 4 Dead , Turtle Rock was rename Valve South . However , a rift in coordination led to a split between Valve and the studio , with Valve South separating and   renaming itself Turtle Rock as a new independent company in 2010 . Even after the rent , Turtle Rock still keep back many originalL4Ddevelopers on its stave .

Stardew Valley Kitchen

Were it not for that variance , perhaps it would have indeed beenLeft 4 stagnant 3that was introducedat The Game Awards 2020 . As it is , though , Back 4 Bloodis probably the more appropriate step forward . A spiritual sequel is a chance to at the same time void franchise weariness , while still give fans a refurbish iteration of the gameplay they ’ve loved for years .

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Back 4 Blood Concept

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