Left 4 Dead

store.steampowered.comStore page, read 28 October 2026

Backs Steam app ID, Most players online, Platforms, Release status, Free base co-op, Genres, About, Sessions.

• Steam app ID: The page is for app 500, the original game, sold on its own.
• Most players online: Valve's store text says the game casts up to four players and that each campaign can be played by one to four human players.
• Platforms: The store lists Windows only. Valve's Xbox listing is out of stock, so Xbox is left out.
• Release status: The page shows a price and a buy button.
• Free base co-op: The Windows game is sold at a fixed price. The only other edition, on Xbox, is out of stock.
• Genres: Valve calls it a co-op action horror game.
• About: The store text sets it among swarming zombie hordes and mutant infected. User tags include Zombies.
• Sessions: Four campaigns of five maps each, with a Director that builds a different run every time.

store.steampowered.comStore data, read 28 October 2026

Backs Steam app ID, Release status, Release date, Platforms, Free base co-op.

• Steam app ID: Steam data names the product Left 4 Dead with app id 500.
• Release status: The data marks the game as already released.
• Release date: Steam shows 17 November 2008. Valve's own blog puts the Steam launch at midnight Eastern time on 18 November, so the file follows the maker.
• Platforms: The platform flags show Windows only.
• Free base co-op: The data marks the game as not free.

store.steampowered.comStore data, read 28 October 2026

Backs Steam Deck.

• Steam Deck: Valve rates the game Playable on Steam Deck.

wikidata.orgWikidata, read 28 October 2026

Backs Wikidata item, Genres.

• Wikidata item: The item carries Steam app id 500.
• Genres: Wikidata lists first-person shooter and survival horror, which match shooter and horror.

l4d.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026

Backs Release date.

• Release date: Valve's post dated 18 November 2008 says the PC version went live on Steam as of midnight Eastern time.

l4d.comOfficial news, read 28 October 2026

Backs Release date.

• Release date: Valve's post from the evening of 17 November 2008 says the Steam launch comes at midnight Eastern time, which is the start of 18 November.

web.archive.orgOfficial site, read 28 October 2026

Backs About, Sessions.

• About: Valve sets the game in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, with swarming zombies as the enemy.
• Sessions: Valve describes four movie campaigns and an AI Director that makes each playthrough different. Archived copy of the maker's page, captured January 2009.

xbox.comStore page, read 28 October 2026

Backs Online co-op.

• Online co-op: Valve's Xbox listing names online co-op. It gives a count of two, which conflicts with Valve's four, so the count is taken from Valve's own text instead.

shacknews.comPress, read 28 October 2026

Backs Platforms.

• Platforms: Shacknews, 11 November 2008, quotes a Valve designer saying split screen was officially supported on Xbox 360 only. Windows has no official local co-op, so no local fields are set.

gamesradar.comPress, read 28 October 2026

Backs Online co-op, Kind of game, Fear, Tension and danger, Story, Working in sync.

• Online co-op: PC Gamer's review on GamesRadar+ says the campaigns are made for co-op with three other players over LAN or Steam's online matchmaking.
• Kind of game: The review says losing sight of your teammates invites doom, which is how a squad plays.
• Fear: The review calls the fight fast, bloody and frightening in a way few horror games manage.
• Tension and danger: The Director spawns zombies in surprising places and leaves only moments to regroup between waves.
• Story: The review's list of downsides includes no explicit story, and the plot is a familiar zombie film setup.
• Working in sync: The review says respawning is a privilege, a downed survivor needs a teammate to help them up, and losing sight of the group invites doom.

ign.comPress, read 28 October 2026

Backs Kind of game, Sessions, Laughter and chaos, Tension and danger, Working in sync, Exploring, Fighting, Getting better, Planning ahead, Story.

• Kind of game: IGN says the game is built almost entirely around cooperative play and comes alive with other humans.
• Sessions: IGN says a campaign takes about 20 to 30 minutes on normal and the Director makes replays unfold differently.
• Laughter and chaos: IGN, 17 November 2008, calls playing with others a hilarious experience that is also slightly frustrating at times.
• Tension and danger: IGN says the pacing keeps you pushed to the edge with health and ammo running low.
• Working in sync: IGN says you can tell other humans you are hurting and change formation, which bots cannot do.
• Exploring: Each scenario is a fixed route from safe house to safe house, with weapons and supplies to pick up on the way.
• Fighting: Firefights with horde zombies and special infected fill the scenarios.
• Getting better: IGN says the hardest difficulty is so brutal that you need four humans and may still fail, and that higher settings mean dying a lot.
• Planning ahead: IGN says you have time before each crescendo to set fuel canisters and talk through the plan.
• Story: The plot is a simple zombie apocalypse setup with four named survivors.

eurogamer.netPress, read 28 October 2026

Backs Sessions, Laughter and chaos, Time to hang out.

• Sessions: Eurogamer, 19 November 2008, says each of the four campaigns takes about an hour, longer on expert.
• Laughter and chaos: Eurogamer says someone messes up or excels in a memorable and amusing way in every mission.
• Time to hang out: Eurogamer says the heart of the game is playing with three friends and chatting nonsense over voice chat. Play is fast, so the level stays low.