Despite not releasing a major, non-VR title for almost 10 years now, Valve is still often hailed as one of the industry's best companies, with some of the greatest games ever made under its belt. From Half-Life to Portal to Team Fortress 2, there's no denying that Valve has quite the back catalog, but the developer's present isn't nearly as exciting. Though Half-Life: Alyx pushed the boundaries of what VR can be, it wasn't a full sequel to the franchise, and fans are still desperately holding out hope for a fully-fledged Half-Life 3. And though it may not be as infamous, Left 4 Dead 3 is also on that same wishlist.
Generally considered to be two of the best co-op games of all time, and some of the best zombie games ever made, the Left 4 Dead series lasted just two years, with the first game releasing in 2008 and the second arriving just one year later. Despite its shockingly short development time, Left 4 Dead has continued to be one of Valve's most accessible and replayable franchises, and even though games like Back 4 Blood try to give players a similar experience, that hasn't stopped fans asking for a Left 4 Dead 3, but that might never happen.
What Happened to Left 4 Dead 3?
The gaming industry is full of leaks and rumors, perhaps even more so than any other entertainment industry. And for big developers and publishers, this is even more so the case. With hundreds of employees around the globe, all it takes is just one screenshot of a document or office photo to be posted online, and a company's whole slate of upcoming video games can be leaked. For the most part, Valve is pretty great at keeping its leaks contained, but that hasn't stopped Left 4 Dead 3 rumors from circulating around online every few months for the past decade.
All the way back in 2014, an image leaked on Neogaf that seemed to showcase some of Left 4 Dead 2's environments up-rezzed using the Source 2 engine. At the time, fans thought this might have been a remake of Left 4 Dead 2 in Valve's brand-new engine, or possibly a tech demo to convince Valve to make Left 4 Dead 3. In 2016, the Valve News Network datamined Valve's Steam VR Performance Tool and discovered a whole slew of information on what was then thought to be Valve's upcoming slate of games, including some Source 2 files that suggested Left 4 Dead 3 would have a day and night cycle, and that it could potentially be set in Morocco. Later on in 2019, Valve News Network also stumbled upon some screenshots which were presumed to be from the game, depicting a walled Moroccan city.
Back in 2020, Geoff Keighley's interactive documentary storybook The Final Hours of Half-Life: Alyx launched. Keighley's relationship with Valve dates all the way back to the very first Half-Life, and with the devs being so comfortable with him, he managed to eke out a few details about Left 4 Dead 3, and even Half-Life 3, or at least earlier attempts at getting them made. Apparently, after the release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Valve wasn't too keen on just continuing the story in the same fashion and instead wanted to continue innovating with each release. The team came to the conclusion that it first needed to make a new Source engine in order to push the boundaries of gameplay.
At the same time as the Source 2 engine was being created, Valve was also working on three other projects, one of those being Left 4 Dead 3. A team of 30 Valve devs started working on the sequel in 2013, and much like those earlier rumors stated, the game was set in Morocco, and would feature a brand-new cast of colorful characters. Left 4 Dead 3 would include a vast open-world, with hundreds of zombies populating it, but this is where Valve ran into issues. Apparently, the new Source 2 engine just couldn't keep up with the game, and ultimately Valve decided to shelve the project until the engine was ready. That's all that's known about Left 4 Dead 3 and its development, and with Valve seemingly shifting its focus to VR and the Steam Deck, it seems unlikely that fans will ever get to play Left 4 Dead 3, or at least this version of it.