Left 4 Dead 2's community-made official update goes live next week

We learned in August about Left 4 Dead 2: The Last Stand, a major, fan-made update to Valve's venerable zombie-shooter that's being released as an official update. Details were thin at the time, but today we got a good look at what's coming courtesy of an official trailer, and also a release date of September 24.

The Last Stand will include more than 20 new Survival mode maps, updated animations, restored voicelines ("It's a bitch apocalypse now, bitch" makes me think that maybe those lines were cut for a reason), new melee weapons, two new mutations, 30 new achievements, and "a plethora of bug and exploit fixes." A more detailed rundown of changed was posted on YouTube by development team member JAiZ, including:

  • The Last Stand campaign - The survivors decide to take an alternate path in hopes of salvation, but is this path truly safe?
  • 30 brand new achievements - New and unique milestones to strive for!
  • 26 new survival maps - How long can you survive against the endless hordes?
  • 4 new scavenge maps - Wait, people still play scavenge?
  • 2 brand new melee weapons - Hunt down a Jockey with the pitchfork or whack it with the shovel. Satisfaction guaranteed!
  • L4D1 infected - The L4D1 infected are back, and they're bloodier than ever!
  • New and previously unused voicelines for survivors - Rochelle has a personality now!
  • New character animations - New, improved and overhauled animations by our skilled modding team!
  • Reworked gun models and animations - The guns now behave more like real guns!
  • PvP enhancements and balance changes - New attack spots, new tank spawns, and hundreds of new infected ladders for the competitive modes!
  • Official implementation of CSS weapons - The CSS weapons are now available to everyone!
  • Brand new mutations Rocketdude and Tank Run - Ever wanted to launch yourself around with a grenade launcher, or run away from hordes of tanks? We've got you covered.
  • Improved UI options - Singleplayer option for more gamemodes, Versus Survival is officially brought to the main menu, easier gamemode switching, and new outro stats!
  • Hundreds of bug and exploit fixes - The days of falling through elevators are gone!

The update is being developed by a community team of more than 30 people, "working together with Valve" for nearly a year, and it will be free for all players. The full, very extensive patch notes are available on the Left 4 Dead Nation Discord server.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.