Left 4 Dead spiritual sequel Back 4 Blood delayed
But it's running an open beta this summer
Alas, we'll have to wait an extra four months for the new cooperative zombie-smashing shooter from Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock Studios. They announced today that Back 4 Blood's release is delayed from the June 22nd to October 12th. Making something huge and complicated is tricky during a global pandemic, y'know. But on the bright side, we will get to play some part of Back 4 Blood this summer in an open beta test.
Turtle Rock are the folks who created Left 4 Dead in the first place, joined Valve to finish it, then soon split to go independent again. While Valve own the L4D series, that certainly doesn't stop Turtle Rock from making a new game which is basically the same thing. You can see the similarities in this B4B gameplay vid from December:
"We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your continued patience and support," Turtle Rock said on Twitter today. "This is a decision that we were hoping we wouldnt have to make, but the Covid-19 pandemic had a huge impact. It definitely slowed things down for us."
They added, "We know how excited everyone is about the title and we want to do it, and all of you, right by not rushing it out the door."
Sure, sure, go on, I'll wait. The delay announcement says "there will be an open beta this summer," offering no further details, and I'll still round up the laaads for that.
Back 4 Blood will be on Steam and the Epic Games Store for £50/€60/$60.
Big day for delays. Humankind, the civilisation-building 4X strategy game from the makers of Endless Space, is also pushed back four months.