Left 4 Dead Creators Announce Deal With THQ

[Tom Goldman]

Left 4 Dead Creators Announce Deal With THQ

Turtle Rock Studios has moved on from Valve to create a new multiplayer franchise for THQ.

Valve owns Left 4 Dead 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Left-4-Dead-Game-Xbox-360/dp/B0025KZV7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1306615310&sr=8-1], and the studio has now moved on to sign a deal with THQ.

In a press release, THQ vice president of core games Danny Bilson said: "Turtle Rock Studios is responsible for one of the most original, critically acclaimed co-operative games of this generation, and we are incredibly excited to be working with them on their next project, which looks set to make a similar impact in the multiplayer space."

Turtle Rock COO Phil Rob adds: "This project is the most ambitious thing we've ever attempted, and we're inspired by the support THQ has shown to help us realize that vision. We're going to take the first person shooter experience to a whole new level, and we can't wait to show the game for the first time in the months ahead."

Normally, I wouldn't pay much attention to carefully prepared PR quotes, but they're currently the only hints we have as to what Turtle Rock is working on. It'll be an original IP and multiplayer-focused, but it doesn't yet have a title.

The press release states that the project won't be shown off at E3 2011. The reason for this could be because it's still early, as THQ mentions that the game is scheduled for release in faraway 2013. Turtle Rock will probably give us another avenue through which to shoot things or each other, but who knows, maybe the game will be all about racing unicorns through a land made of happiness.

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[Just_A_Glitch]

I'll keep my eye on this. I absolutely adored Left 4 Dead. Let's hope the developers can keep my attention.

 

[AlternatePFG]

I really like Left 4 Dead, so I'm interested in this. And I do think THQ is a pretty decent publisher, at least they've published a few games that I enjoy.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Fascinating. I much preferred 1 over 2, so it'll be interesting to see if they do that fairy game they were talking about.

 

[Yopaz]

So... next game will feature zombies invading America? Saints Row 4 with zombies? Company of Zombies? World of Zombies?

Anyway, hopefully they'll make a good game.

 

[UnravThreads]

Interesting to me, as I have always found l4d to be the better game.

That's because it was

 

[ultimateownage]

Turtle Rock, just like Valve themselves, can do no wrong in my eye. So this shall be interesting.
It's a shame they left Valve. Valve always seemed to be open to new ideas and give them all the help they needed. Why did they leave, anyway?

 

[EllEzDee]

THQ is responsible for loads of fuckin' awesome games. Let's hope they can do better with Turtle Rock's skills than Valve, and after L4D 2, the bar's set pretty low.

 

[Covarr]

Interesting to me, as I have always found l4d to be the better game.

I'm of mixed feelings on the matter. I felt like the second game was more polished in terms of game mechanics, but the first had better level designs and a MUCH better, darker mood. Once the rest of the original levels are ported to L4D2, I think it'll be by far the superior game of the two.

I am certainly curious what Turtle Rock can accomplish separate from VALV[sup]E[/sup] though.

P.S. Thanks

 

[Bags159]

THQ is responsible for loads of fuckin' awesome games. Let's hope they can do better with Turtle Rock's skills than Valve, and after L4D 2, the bar's set pretty low.

But Left 4 Dead 2 was a great game. Not as new and fresh as Left 4 Dead 1, but I guarantee if it was released first people would say it was the better game.

Interesting to me, as I have always found l4d to be the better game.

I'm of mixed feelings on the matter. I felt like the second game was more polished in terms of game mechanics, but the first had better level designs and a MUCH better, darker mood. Once the rest of the original levels are ported to L4D2, I think it'll be by far the superior game of the two.

And this.

Anyhow, I don't know any games THQ has published so I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.

 

[MrGalactus]

"We're going to take the first person shooter experience to a whole new level"


This is a most overused sentence recently. Every FPS has said this. I think we should be done with FPS's for a while.

 

[EllEzDee]

Anyhow, I don't know any games THQ has published so I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.

Company of Heroes, the older, more awesome wrestling games from the previous console generations, Saints Row 2, Stalker 3...all fantastic games.
And L4D seems preferred among the community, simply because it doesn't rely on gimmicks, has far better characters and dialogue, and, as you said, has a proper atmosphere. On top of that, it's far more refined due to its age, so there's far less bugs/exploits.

 

[Meggiepants]

Hopefully the quality will remain the same. I enjoy these games. They are some of the best co-op games out there.

 

[Bags159]

Anyhow, I don't know any games THQ has published so I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.

Company of Heroes, the older, more awesome wrestling games from the previous console generations, Saints Row 2, Stalker 3...all fantastic games.
And L4D seems preferred among the community, simply because it doesn't rely on gimmicks, has far better characters and dialogue, and, as you said, has a proper atmosphere. On top of that, it's far more refined due to its age, so there's far less bugs/exploits.

Left 4 Dead wasn't every scary, otherwise you'd have a point about the atmosphere being better. I will agree that I like the cast more in Left 4 Dead 1, but they weren't as realistic as the cast from 2. What gimmicks does Left 4 Dead 2 rely on?

Again, it's generally preferred because it came out first and a lot of VALVe fans have entitlement problems and were upset that Left 4 Dead 2 was not given to us for free.

 

[EllEzDee]

Anyhow, I don't know any games THQ has published so I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.

Company of Heroes, the older, more awesome wrestling games from the previous console generations, Saints Row 2, Stalker 3...all fantastic games.
And L4D seems preferred among the community, simply because it doesn't rely on gimmicks, has far better characters and dialogue, and, as you said, has a proper atmosphere. On top of that, it's far more refined due to its age, so there's far less bugs/exploits.

Left 4 Dead wasn't every scary, otherwise you'd have a point about the atmosphere being better. I will agree that I like the cast more in Left 4 Dead 1, but they weren't as realistic as the cast from 2. What gimmicks does Left 4 Dead 2 rely on?

Again, it's generally preferred because it came out first and a lot of VALVe fans have entitlement problems and were upset that Left 4 Dead 2 was not given to us for free.

"Firey bullets!", 3 superfluous new enemies that add nothing to the game which the original ones didn't already accomplish, reskinned weapons which work the same way the originals did, and best of all, melee combat (doesn't even require an explanation...).
And i didn't mean it was "scary", i just meant that it was far more fitting than a bunch of hicks (sorry South-North 'murica) with banjo music in a sunny town.

 

[Owlslayer]

Well i love the L4D series so I'll be hoping something cool will pop up.
Of course, chances are it doesn't really have a lot in common with L4D, but i like zombies and i like L4D.

 

[Bags159]

Anyhow, I don't know any games THQ has published so I have no idea if this is a good or bad thing.

Company of Heroes, the older, more awesome wrestling games from the previous console generations, Saints Row 2, Stalker 3...all fantastic games.
And L4D seems preferred among the community, simply because it doesn't rely on gimmicks, has far better characters and dialogue, and, as you said, has a proper atmosphere. On top of that, it's far more refined due to its age, so there's far less bugs/exploits.

Left 4 Dead wasn't every scary, otherwise you'd have a point about the atmosphere being better. I will agree that I like the cast more in Left 4 Dead 1, but they weren't as realistic as the cast from 2. What gimmicks does Left 4 Dead 2 rely on?

Again, it's generally preferred because it came out first and a lot of VALVe fans have entitlement problems and were upset that Left 4 Dead 2 was not given to us for free.

"Firey bullets!", 3 superfluous new enemies that add nothing to the game which the original ones didn't already accomplish, reskinned weapons which work the same way the originals did, and best of all, melee combat (doesn't even require an explanation...).
And i didn't mean it was "scary", i just meant that it was far more fitting than a bunch of hicks (sorry South-North 'murica) with banjo music in a sunny town.

I agree that fiery bullets are gimmicky, but they're still entertaining to use. "Reskinned" (quotes because they are slightly different) weapons and melee weapons aren't gimmicky.

If they were traditional zombies (slow moving, headshots only, etc) you'd have a point but I don't think there's any objective rule as to what is the better atmosphere for a zombie apocalypse.