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2.5 million Left 4 Dead at retail

Valve and Turtle Rock Studios-developed survival horror shooter sales milestone includes PC, Xbox 360 edition; Steam sales not included.

Even before Valve and its wholly owned subsidiary Turtle Rock Studios shipped Left 4 Dead in November, it was clear that the survival-horror shooter would be a top seller. In October, Valve said that Left 4 Dead preorders were outpacing those of its critically lauded and commercially successful The Orange Box by 65 percent, a clear indication of the title's growing demand.

As part of the 2009 Game Developers Conference last week, Valve revealed just how well the game is doing. The PC and Xbox 360 editions of the game have combined to sell more than 2.5 million units at retail worldwide, according to the publisher.

That number does not include sales through Valve's online distribution platform Steam, a statistic the publisher traditionally keeps under its hat. However, Valve founder Gabe Newell revealed in February that during a one-weekend-only half-off sale through Steam, Left 4 Dead sales skyrocketed 3,000 percent.

For more on the game, check out GameSpot's review of Left 4 Dead.

83 Comments

  • reedf1

    Posted Jun 1, 2009 12:01 pm GMT

    All I saw was "Steam sales not included."
    I lolled.

  • savageandres

    Posted Apr 7, 2009 11:11 pm GMT

    I LOVE THIS GAME!!!
    I swear I thought that the four different campaigns (call them what you want) would get boring playing through them over and over again but its still AWESOME! I can't wait for the new DLC to come to xbox...

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Apr 5, 2009 2:43 pm GMT

    king_chapeton15 Posted Apr 2, 2009 3:00 am GMT when will left 4 dead come 2 ps3

    Err, it wont! at least not by VALVe as they hate the PS3, they may outsource it to EA (ala Half Life), but i wouldnt hold your breath.

  • TehEliteElite

    Posted Apr 4, 2009 9:11 am GMT

    Nobody asked you cjasko94, and nobody cares.

  • dynomitemasta

    Posted Apr 4, 2009 5:35 am GMT

    Sometimes I here these numbers and it doesn't really sink in how many even one million really is... imagine one million people outside your house holding a copy of left4dead... jeeze that's a lot!

  • Hekynn

    Posted Apr 3, 2009 12:44 pm GMT

    Holy crap 2.5 mill copy's!? WOW!!!

  • ace-of-spades93

    Posted Apr 3, 2009 2:26 am GMT

    because its fast paced DUH!

  • cjasko94 posted Apr 2, 2009 9:58 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    cjasko94

    Posted Apr 2, 2009 9:58 pm GMT (hide)

    Left 4 Dead was so crap, I got bord with it SO fast.
    -no story what so ever
    -Online is just dead
    -not great gameplay
    -NOT even enough maps
    -Graphics suck -Why play this why Resident Evil 5 is out, and that kicka$$

  • thenephariouson

    Posted Apr 2, 2009 1:19 pm GMT

    It may not have the eye candy of Res 5, but for gameplay & pure fun it wipes the floor with it! Ultimately its VALVe, nuff said! I really hope they're working on HL Episode 3, i really cant wait for it.

  • Inconnux

    Posted Apr 2, 2009 11:16 am GMT

    Like many others, I had tons of fun playing L4D. I got bored because of the limited amount of maps and have stopped playing it. Hopefully Valve will soon release more maps. This tactic reminds me of Day of Defeat: Source, Limited maps upon release, but now there are tons of great maps.

  • majorfoley

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 10:45 pm GMT

    JACK AND BLOOD HOW COULD YOU!
    LEFT 4 dead is the best zombie game ive ever played sigh since they ruined zombie panic source with 1.40 zombie panic source before it went on steam wasnt that bad with the cabin map ah wells LEFT 4 DEAD MAKES UP FOR IT BEST GAME EVER AND CANT WAIT FOR DLC PACK

  • king_chapeton15

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 7:00 pm GMT

    when will left 4 dead come 2 ps3

  • jeremiah237

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 6:18 pm GMT

    good to see valve is doing well.....
    now why wont they tell us about this"survival" mode?

  • WizengamotX

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 12:38 pm GMT

    I hope to be adding to this statistic, this coming July.

  • m-o-l-o-k-o

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 10:24 am GMT

    i just hope valve dont forget about update this awesomizante game esta chingón me gusta mucho i play everyday at least 2 hours and yesterday found something new and the versus is awesome thanx valve for such a great game keep up the god work and the updates

  • DSandPSP_owner

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 10:45 pm GMT

    Yes, vietboi89, it's coming in 20 days.

  • vietboi89

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 8:17 pm GMT

    thats nice to hear, maybe there'll be a sequel or better yet, free DLC anytime soon?

  • HessMan217

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 7:49 pm GMT

    I just wish Valve had put say only 6 more months into this game. About 6 full campaigns, all 4 original maps for Versus from the start, one or two more special infected and maybe some unlockable background stories for the characters and we'd ALL STILL be playing L4D right now. But, alas we've all been bored of it for a couple months now. Survival mode should help.

  • J0nGalt

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 7:21 pm GMT

    L4D = awesome. To bad its map selection is so severely limited to be almost unplayable after a few weeks. Please dont understand this to mean it is a bad game, its not. Its great game that needs more conetnt.Neglecting this gem would be a huge mistake for its publishers.

  • aslkyu

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 6:19 pm GMT

    Free DLC and one of the most team orientated games out there plus they listen too the fans. I have my copy........

    p.s. I sometimes hear the witch even when I'm not playing.....

  • jackandblood

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 3:31 pm GMT

    then 1.25 million buyers must be griefers.

  • andrew_ribbons

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 2:58 pm GMT

    Why not Steam sales? That's possibly the easiest one to count! That stinks of a pretty dumbing-down of the total sales, i'm guessing more like 4million total. A steam sale is still a sale!

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 2:51 pm GMT

    L4D is a great game, grant it it would be nice if it had a better story, however without this is no reason to dis the game. Much like the boys at Zero Coordination say, if you want a compelling story, read a book.

  • BloodMist

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 12:31 pm GMT

    As it should be, L4D is definitely one of the most kickass shooters i've played in a very long time.And the Steams sales probably at least double that amount.

  • Big_To

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 11:59 am GMT

    I agree with Shazam Ip, but not just pc developers, all developers can learn from Valve.

  • shazam_lp

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 11:48 am GMT

    This shows that PC Gaming is not dead. Developers need to learn and make games that are worth buying, games that update that don't charge you monthly to play online. This is the way it should be done. People will get out and buy games like these, and these numbers are proof.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 11:11 am GMT

    Loved the game. 4 player co-op rules! I think more and more games will be going in this direction, with the co op and all. Bring on the DLC.

  • tuvideo87 posted Mar 31, 2009 9:44 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    tuvideo87

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 9:44 am GMT (hide)

    gabe newell you complacent lazy fat pig. being good at something doesnt make owner of the truth

  • aaronobst

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 9:38 am GMT

    I have played it and it rules... here's hoping it comes to the PS3 one day

  • arc_salvo

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 9:11 am GMT

    I loved Left4Dead but agree with tonyhawksP8. It really bugs me that there's no story, because the characters and the world have so much personality.

  • finaleve

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 7:27 am GMT

    SpinoRaptor24 > It's going to be delayed and you know it.

    Seriously, already knew they were going to sell well for 2 reasons. 1)The demo was awesome and thus shows that the game is really awesome and 2)It's from Valve, they make games that are always sunshine and giggles.

  • MrHatnClogs

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 7:16 am GMT

    *Insert comment about L4D Sales Here*

  • Sniper

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 7:08 am GMT

    Of course the sales of Left 4 Dead skyrocketed during an online half-off sale. I bought it too, despite Steam/Valve's terrible customer and technical support, which amounts to, "Screw you, suckers!" Games are priced too high, so half-off sounds about right. "Ooh, but we need $50 to $80 game prices to pay for marketing, packaging and shipping," say the poor, unappreciated and misunderstood good Samaritan publishers. Not if you "ship" software online. Half-off should be regular price all the time. Then sales of all games will increase exponentially, and probably eliminate almost all piracy (there's no need to pirate if prices are consistently affordable).

  • jtthegame316

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 6:22 am GMT

    cool so it should sell well left 4 dead is an awesome game. i have it on 360.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 6:00 am GMT

    Go go multi-platform money makers

  • tonyhawksP8

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 5:57 am GMT

    Great multiplayer but no plot, low amount of weapons kinda like Halo, get from point a to point b is not the best objective, great variety of zombies, car horns attracting hordes and that annoying feeling of killing zombies but not knowing why they are there, what happened, more info on characters etc.

  • kemar7856

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 5:49 am GMT

    meh...i never played left 4 dead but i know most of its sales is from DD so this is pointless

  • cell_100

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 5:26 am GMT

    all it needs is new weapons, campaigns. survival mode gunna be awesome.

  • Avenger1324

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 4:23 am GMT

    Seriously what is the point in posting sales figures for a game that was primarily sold through digital distribution, only to ignore all online sales?

  • firehawk998

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 4:03 am GMT

    VALVE deserves all the money they got from the sales. Great addictive game.

  • bradbirdie

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 1:40 am GMT

    This game is really terrific

  • xdeiri

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 1:25 am GMT

    2.5 million are left for dead

  • SpinoRaptor24

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 1:18 am GMT

    Awesome sales for an awesome game.

    Maybe now Valve can work on Episode 3?

  • LastMatic

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 12:23 am GMT

    LOL@ metalisticpain

    So true...

  • CPM_basic

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 11:04 pm GMT

    This game is fun! I'm really not surprised that it sold so well!

  • purple_pride99

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 10:59 pm GMT

    Really fun game, but I got bored with it pretty quickly.

  • metalisticpain

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 10:41 pm GMT

    Gamespot, how about you use a freaking up to date picture? I mean really, is this a game site? or some noob newspaper

  • BattleSword1

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 10:27 pm GMT

    This game is f**king awesome.

  • Oni

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 3:35 pm GMT

    I love both campaign (expert mode) and versus equally. That doesn't happen very often for me. I've heard people say it got boring fast. Hmm, I've played it to death and I still can't get enough. Now if April 21 would hurry up and get here already

  • onething77

    Posted Mar 30, 2009 3:23 pm GMT

    Valve always pulls it off. People skills I guess. L4D is the best coop game ever made. Period.

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