Edit: reader research suggests this is free – see comments – but still no official response from Valve. We’ll let you know, but assume it is free!
Valve say: “The first L4D DLC – dubbed the L4D Survival Pack — is due for release this spring and introduces a new multiplayer game mode entitled, Survival, plus two complete campaigns for Versus Mode.” They also say: “In addition, for PC gamers and aspiring developers, the first Left 4 Dead release for the Source Software Development Kit (Source SDK) will allow the creation of custom Left 4 Dead campaigns that will be discoverable via L4D’s matchmaking system. The SDK update is also due for release this spring, and is free of charge to all owners of L4D on the PC.”
There’s also a new retail version of the game also due in the spring, called “Critic’s Choice”, with all that stuff to be included.
Related Stories:
Valve can’t win.
- Free on XBox, Free on PC : Microsoft angry. Lots of lawyers and angry marketing representatives storm the Valve offices.
- P2P on XBox, Free on PC: Console gamers angry (or maybe not, It seems console gamers like to play for stuff that is free elsewhere, like the multiplayer part of games that have already paid)
- Free on XBox, P2P on PC: PC gamers angry. Internet burns a hole in reality, the chaos gods take over our world.
- P2P on XBox, P2P on PC: PC gamers angry. I have paid $50 for the beta, and I will pay another $20 for the full version?
@cyrenic
Did you see the thread with the various people going “God this is sooo fake, ur all ****ing morons” up until valve finally got the official sources updated, only to have a new batch of people yell, “Oh ur so dum its up hear!” Ahhh the joys of the t’interweb.
@Tei: “Valve Creates Hole in Universe With Sheer Consumer Anger” lol
But if what I’ve heard from Epic and Valve before is:
If you want to get content on Xbox it comes from the Live store. In order to get it on the store if it is significant it must cost money or they won’t put it up. *
There’s no way around it. I think Epic have said before “sorry we wanted to make this free, but we can’t”.
* there may be an exception if it’s free on PS3
Yeah I’m calling it: It’s gonna be free, at least on Steam.
Valve have already stated several times in the past that the way you win the “multiplayer war” (i.e. keep people playing your game for years and keep expanding the playerbase) is to continue releasing free updates for the title. This is a philosophy that has been proven to work for them when they get massive player spikes (a large portion of
whom stay playing), and a 20% spike in sales with every update they release.
There’s also the realisation that it’s also not a bright idea to split your playerbase by releasing charged content when half the players won’t be buying it.
Finally it’s ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY impossible to charge for a map-pack (really, these two maps are just the VS mode on the two maps that don’t currently support VS) on a PC game where you are ALSO releasing the SDK and allowing people to freely create and distribute their own freaking maps, and actively supporting that move.
Seriously, if Valve were intent on charging for this stuff, they would have done it by now with the Team Fortress 2 updates, which have been ridiculously substantial, and if combined into an expansion pack (all three class updates so far PLUS additional maps PLUS new game mode), nobody would have batted an eyelid at them charging a good £10-£15 for it.
I’m going with free update over Steam until I hear otherwise. The nature of the MS’s control over the 360 means they can and have made it mandatory for publishers to charge for DLC of this nature on that platform. That’s something that Valve can’t really help. The most they can do is what they’re doing now, which is getting things like the TF2 updates together into a substantial pack so that at least they’re something worth buying.
@Marvin: You’re still hoping Epic are plugging away at extra content for UT3? I’d not be holding my breath, if I were you: Epic seem to have all but given up on PC gamers. Apparently, we upset them by not stampeding in our millions to the shops to pick up the latest and most problematic iteration of the Unreal Tournaments. Perhaps they didn’t release Gears of War 2 on the platform out of spite? I guess we’ll never know…
And call me a cynic if you like, but all those who have expressed their breaking little hearts over Valve **apparently** about to charge money for L4D’s DLC, their “crosiing over to the Dark Side” should really have known better than to place ANY for-profit entity on a pedestal.
Spring starts march the 21st. It’s a long time…
Hey Cynicide, you might want to Google Titan Pack and see what that turns up for you.
Words: Spring -> Valvetime: Summer 2010
@Tei:
That’s really a given for any company that creates products for consumers ever, I should think. You can never really “win”
I agree with the assessment that Valve is just being careful with wording here. But I could be wrong. Hopefully not.
Charging for the update on the PC would be a definite about-face, given the free TF2 updates.
But at the same time, they don’t want to risk pissing off customers who opted for the inferior version :D
In any event, I’m still waiting for the game to hit $20. Based on the demo, $50 was way too much.
And hey, even if it WAS paid DLC it would still be a ridiculous amount easier to buy than GfWL DLC. Credit card/Paypal in, gamestuffs out.
I don’t understand all this nonsense about confusion over the PC DLC. Maybe thats because there isnt actually any confusion, and I shouldnt have touched the steampowered.com forum thread.
We know that the tf2-style pack is an effective marketing tool, as revealed by valve figures and whatnot (/assumption), and they have told us they plan to keep using this model in future games.
I’m desperately hoping this is just a case of Valve being very careful not to make too big a deal of it being free on the PC while costing money on the 360. As much as I love L4D, if this costs money, I’m not going to buy it. Partly on principle, and partly because I’m afraid that if everyone buys it they will do the same with the TF2 updates from then on.
Also, if they do charge for it, I’ll have lost the last faith I had in Valve as the “saviors” of PC gaming (with the Euro fiasco as the first step).
You guys do know that PC players can already play Dead Air and Death Toll in versus mode, right? You just have to copy the maps over and play on the right servers. Hell, some servers let you play versus on those maps without you having to do anything.
@ Ging
For the same reason Valve released Half-Life with Team Fortress Classic included in the box, or that CD Projekt pushed The Witcher EE to retail while hosting all the new content on their site for free.
I’m going to guess that Survival mode is a bit like VS but with no rescue, just see how long you can hang on…
I’ve played one or two games on blood harvest where the rescue truck never turned up, and in the end we did have a blast holding out against the other team. Maybe we were unwitting beta testers? ;)
(best bit was when we finally got taken down after much smack talk and it was our turn to play infected. We took them all out before they reached the field and they all ragequit :)
Oh and if Valve make their PC faithful pay for this, then baby kittens will cry. Do you want that Valve? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE THE KITTEHS CRY?
that should have been re-released HL..
You know, Valve is just as “evil” as EA anyway. It is just that Valve has indicated that they make more money by doing free DLC. How does this make them any morally better than EA, who has simply decided Horse-armor is the way to go? Valve is a corporation, and their only moral duty is to make as much money for themselves (or their shareholders) as possible.
Maybe Valve will go through with the paid DLC. If so… DON’T BUY IT!! PLEASE!! If it turns out that paid DLC earns you more money then Valve WILL start doing that from now on. Hopefully this will be free, and it will maybe be enough encouragement for me to finally buy. If so, I get to encourage Valve’s continued free DLC policy.
“How does this make them any morally better than EA, who has simply decided Horse-armor is the way to go?”
That’s Bethesda.. and Valve is different from EA in many ways, not least is the way it is run, ie not by clueless suits.
Actually, pay-for DLC on the PC would be a PR nightmare.
The stories would not be “L4D updated content”, they’d all be “Valve abandons principles in money grabbing shocker”
The more I think about it, the less likely it seems. I’m back in the believers camp:
Our Valve who art in Bellevue, hallowed be thy name…
Oh really? Care to explain the EU Steam pricing fiasco then?
Valve isn’t all that different from EA or any other company. (they’re *usually* not as clueless as the EA bosses, but as the above shows, it certainly happens.)
But really, if Valve thinks they can make money, they’ll do it. Just like EA.
Please, don’t blindly assume Valve to be “the good guys”.
@Clovus
I was under the impression that Valve was a non-stock corporation. I can’t find a cite for that, but haven’t been able to find Valve shares on any share trackers.
I believe that’s correct. Valve is employee-owned.
Here’s the thing: Valve wants people to buy the PC version first and foremost, preferably through Steam (where they make way more money per copy sold). The more people using Steam, the more games they’re likely to buy, and the more money Valve makes.
If they charge for the PC DLC, Steam loses a competitive advantage (free content). The choice between console version or PC version becomes less obvious for those on the fence.
Even so, a number of people will still prefer the console version, which is why Valve still releases games for the Xbox.
I’m not blindly assuming anything, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that they are “the good guys” compared to EA. Of course they want to make money but they aren’t in the habit of letting it overule every instinct and decision they make, unlike EA. They thus far haven’t comporomised the quality of their releases for a deadline either, unlike EA.
“They thus far haven’t comporomised the quality of their releases for a deadline either, unlike EA.”
Then why are there only 2 versus maps in the regular release?
“Of course they want to make money but they aren’t in the habit of letting it overule every instinct and descion they make, unlike EA.”
And why are all the updates for Burnout Paradise free?
Valve is not run by suits full-stop. You clearly haven’t seen the Valve offices.
EU Steam pricing fiasco? Prices are now closer to the retail prices in the region. This is both necessary for many of the publishers on Steam (notice how many publishers released their games in the EU afterward) and so that they aren’t under-cutting retail which would piss retail off (retail being a major part of Valve’s and other publisher’s sales).
And best of all, if you don’t feel like it, don’t buy from Steam. It isn’t like you don’t have a choice.
Not to open another topic for discussion but:
Amazon L4D: £26.99 €46.99
Steam L4D: £26.99 €44.99
Amazon Fallout 3: £24.96 €43.20
Seems about the same to me. I don’t see any L4D specific Euro impropriety.
is this the patch that removes the consolified interface
“Prices are now closer to the retail prices in the region.”
You’re clearly high. steam cost 35% or so more than retail
edittttttttt ~25%
The problem is, M$ is basically screwing with Valve’s long-term sales here.
If you’re a 360 owner and you’ve learned that Valve’s initial release of a game is only going to be a fraction of what the eventual Ultimate Hyper-Mega Tricked-Out Edition will entail, why pay the $50 at release and then another $15 every 6 months for the expansions when you can wait and buy it all combined for the same price as the initial release? Does anyone think the Critic’s Edition will cost what the initial release was priced at plus what the DLC costs? No, it’ll be $50 — unless you already bought it when it was first released, then you’re gonna have to pony up the extra $$ over and over.
PC owners will get it free.
I think everyone should calm down about this (read most of the comments but not all.) I am nearly certain that Valve will not charge anything for this content for PC uses. If they do happen to charge something (within reason) then is it really that big a deal. Valve always give continued support for their games where other companies ditch them once they’ve hit the shelves. If they ask for £5-£10 for something substantial then I think that is perfectly reasonable.
For those that spent $50/£35 on it then that is your own fault. I got my copy on pre-order from Amazon for £17.99 and have played the game probably at least twice a week since I bought it. I have absolutely no problem with the money I’ve spent on the product thus far.
As for the content itself, all sounds great. I’m intrigued by this new mode, but most of all I can’t wait for the new versus maps. I expect that they will be Death Toll and Dead Air, as others have suggested. Personally, I think that these would suit versus really well. Death Toll should be great for Hunters, with its numerous roofs to hide on top of, as well as the many bushes to hide in much like Blood Harvest. Dead Air should have a great finale for Versus, with lots of open spaces but also lots of cover. Versus mode is the mode I am always playing now, so some more maps will be much appreciated.
Damien,
How, pray tell, is it Microsoft’s fault if Valve decides to charge 360 users? DLC on the 360 can be free. Just look at the excellent example EA has made with Burnout Paradise. It’s been a year and they’re still putting out free content.
“And why are all the updates for Burnout Paradise free?”
Oh gosh, you’ve got me there, EA are saintly.. this is clearly the norm for them.
valve have said over and over again that everytime they release new free content they expand thier install base of the game by the same amount as the first wee on sale and that they feel they didn’t need to charge for it as the perception that the games get updated for free means more to them than getting some dlc cash in the short term.
Nick,
I’m not the one going around implying that EA never gives stuff out for free.
Sanguine? You’re be bloody/blood colored that it will be free? What?
I sort of covered myself with the bit about them releasing the SDK making a paid for DLC on the PC unlikely – but look at CoD4 which did a similar thing; monied DLC on the consoles and a free release on the PC, but both got a GOTY edition re-release.
I was thinking the same thing, Ging. There’s definitely precedent for that kind of a release, and Infinity Ward is far more console-centric these days than Valve.
Oh noes!!1!!
http://www.edge-online.com/news/paid-left-4-dead-content-spring
Man, that really surprises me.
valve fucking LOVES PC GAMING
Tits to them, I’ll be playing the free user made levels.
Bullshit. They’ve been insinuating the whole time that they’d make the DLC free.
And you can bet your ass that half the people here thought the game was overpriced for the content it was released with.
I wouldn’t have a problem paying for it if they hadn’t been so damned underhanded in the way they sprung it, as people have said they insuated they’d be adding extra content in the same vein as TF2 (ie, free) and when buying it direct from them I was under the impression the missing campaigns in versus would be added later. For free. I’m happy to fork over small sums of money for good quality extra stuff, but please – all but the game mode is “new”, it’s just insulting and intensly irritating that they have pulled it in this deceptive manner. Not to mention charging twice what they did for TF2.
i hope that this link http://www.edge-online.com/news/paid-left-4-dead-content-spring is a fake new, or i will say “shit! shit! shit!” like Louis on l4d ò_.
if they charge for this I’ll be $*@#%*@# pissed. Not only did they insinuate it’d be free, but it’s not that much content in the first place! One new mode! An additional mode for 2 campaigns we’ve already played! WEEE! Come on.
Just like with TF2, Valve seems to only release half of a game nowadays, and deliver the rest as updates over the coming years. TF2 would have been a pretty meager deal, if you didn’t expect new maps and updates to arrive over the coming months and years.
Now if they start testing out customer’s acceptance to putting every new update to their games behind a pay-wall, that, I hope, would be an experiment they’d regret.
Valve is taking the a-hole path a lot, lately. I hope they will keep the last bits of their classiness over the next few years.
I know it won’t last forever, though. One day, Valve will turn into a faceless corporate zombie. I just hope that transfer will continue to be so slow…
The Edge Online article has updated:
Update: Due to a miscommunication, we had updated the original piece saying that PC and Xbox 360 Survival Packs would be paid. However, Valve has since told Edge that it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the price being “$0.00.” Sorry for any confusion.
“Update: Due to a miscommunication, we had updated the original piece saying that PC and Xbox 360 Survival Packs would be paid. However, Valve has since told Edge that it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of the price being “$0.00.” Sorry for any confusion.”
from the Edge article
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Flint:
Oh, god damn it. Sounds like all parties involved are on edge about this.