'We are going back to our roots and at the same time innovating on them.' The developers behind the original Left 4 Dead are making a new spiritual successor, and they're committed to one-upping L4D in every way. (Note: This is L4D2 concept art, not art for Back 4 Blood) Today Turtle Rock Studios announced Back 4 Blood, a new shooter with strong ties to the studio's popular 2008 zombie survival shooter. Back 4 Blood isn't a direct sequel to the Left 4 Dead games, and is instead set in a brand new AAA IP established alongside Warner Bros. Interactive. The game sounds very close to L4D, sporting co-op multiplayer and a campaign mode, and will undoubtedly build upon Turtle Rocks' FPS prowess to create something both recognizable and brand new. "Back 4 Blood is designed from the ground-up as an original, premium title and marries the best of what made the co-op zombie shooter so successful with new features and state-of-the-art technology," reads the announcement. Back 4 Blood is in very, very early stages of development. No footage, assets, screenshots, or even key art were released for the reveal, indicating Turtle Rock's deal with WB was just freshly inked and there's probably not much to show. Turtle Rock is taking Back 4 Blood very seriously. Armed with new high-end technologies like a powerful game engine, Turtle Rock promises to infuse brand new and exciting game mechanics into the old-school zombie-blasting action L4D is known for. In fact, the studio says Back 4 Blood will be better than anything they've ever done. "We are going back to our roots and at the same time innovating on them. We know we have some big shoes to fill, but we're going all out to surpass everything we've done before," reads the game's FAQ page. "We are not resting on any past laurels. Our goal is to take all we've learned and push forward. We know that's a tall order," said Phil Robb, Co-founder and Creative Director, Turtle Rock Studios. "We're growing the team considerably because we're stepping up to the biggest challenge in this studio's history. We know this title has to stand out and we fully intend to make that happen." Back 4 Blood will undoubtedly be monetized in some form (as most WB Interactive games are), but the team says microtransactions will be done in a way the community agrees on. No release date or window was revealed and Back 4 Blood will release on PS4, Xbox One, and PC when it's ready. Check below for the full FAQ for more information:<doc-sep>Turtle Rock Studios, the developer behind the critically-acclaimed cooperative zombie game “Left 4 Dead,” is back with a new project, it announced on Thursday. “Back 4 Blood” seeks to combine what made “Left 4 Dead” so successful with new features and technology. While Turtle Rock hasn’t released many details about the game, it said on its FAQ page it’s currently focusing on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The developer also stressed “Back 4 Blood” is not a battle royale title. It’s being published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, which said it’s thrilled to partner with Turtle Rock and help advance the co-op zombie genre. “The talented team at Turtle Rock has been developing amazing games together for a long time, and this is a great opportunity to work with them to create a new gaming universe built specifically with the large co-op zombie shooter community in mind,” Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad said. “It’s hard to overstate what an awesome opportunity this is. We get to return to a genre that was born in our studio with over ten years of additional experience and zombie ideas racked up in our brains,” said Chris Ashton, co-founder and design director at Turtle Rock Studios. “We also have some of the best teammates in the business at WBIE who understand our development process and are equally committed to our player-first mentality. We love being able to announce, so we can start working with the community right away.” In addition to “Left 4 Dead,” Turtle Rock has worked on AAA multiplayer franchises like “Counter-Strike” and the ill-fated “Evolve.” But, the developer said it’s not resting on its laurels. Its goal is to take all it’s learned and push forward. It calls “Back 4 Blood” the “biggest challenge in this studio’s history.” “We know this title has to stand out and we fully intend to make that happen,” said Turtle Rock Studios co-founder and creative director Phil Robb.<doc-sep>The studio that developed the original Left 4 Dead is developing what sounds like a spiritual sequel: Back 4 Blood, described as a cooperative shooter against hordes of zombies. In other words, it sounds like the Left 4 Dead follow-up that Valve still hasn’t delivered. Back 4 Blood is being developed by Turtle Rock Studios, the team that also created Evolve, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In an FAQ posted to its website, Turtle Rock says it’s “going back to [its] roots and at the same time innovating on them.” The developer is keeping details on Back 4 Blood close to the vest; the studio hasn’t released any images of the game and teased “new features we aren’t ready to talk about just yet.” However, Turtle Rock stressed that the game is not — at least in an official capacity — Left 4 Dead 3. “Back 4 Blood is our own brand new, original IP,” the studio said. “You’ll be able to shoot up a lot of zombies like in Left 4 Dead, but there’s a whole lot of new stuff in Back 4 Blood which makes it unique.” “It’s hard to overstate what an awesome opportunity this is. We get to return to a genre that was born in our studio with over ten years of additional experience and zombie ideas racked up in our brains,” said Chris Ashton, co-founder and design director, Turtle Rock Studios, in a news release. “We also have some of the best teammates in the business at WBIE who understand our development process and are equally committed to our player-first mentality. We love being able to announce, so we can start working with the community right away.” “We are not resting on any past laurels. Our goal is to take all we’ve learned and push forward. We know that’s a tall order,” added Phil Robb, co-founder and creative director. “We’re growing the team considerably because we’re stepping up to the biggest challenge in this studio’s history. We know this title has to stand out and we fully intend to make that happen.” Back 4 Blood will feature a campaign and player-versus-player combat, and will not be a battle royale game, Turtle Rock said. The game is bound for PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One, and does not have an announced release date.<doc-sep>
After the unfortunate crash and burn that was Overkill’s The Walking Dead, Warner Bros. and Turtle Rock Studios are looking to save the day with today’s huge announcement of Back 4 Blood, a co-operative first-person shooter “designed from the ground-up as an original, premium title” that “marries the best of what made the co-op zombie shooter so successful with new features and state-of-the-art technology.” Being developed for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, Back 4 Blood brings back the team that brought us the addictive modern classic Left 4 Dead (and the DLC for the sequel, Left 4 Dead 2). “We are thrilled to partner with the proven Turtle Rock Studios team on Back 4 Blood to advance the co-op zombie genre forward with innovative multiplayer gameplay,” Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad said in a press release. “The talented team at Turtle Rock has been developing amazing games together for a long time, and this is a great opportunity to work with them to create a new gaming universe built specifically with the large co-op zombie shooter community in mind.” Turtle Rock Studios co-founder and design director Chris Ashton added, “It’s hard to overstate what an awesome opportunity this is. We get to return to a genre that was born in our studio with over ten years of additional experience and zombie ideas racked up in our brains. We also have some of the best teammates in the business at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment who understand our development process and are equally committed to our player-first mentality. We love being able to announce, so we can start working with the community right away.” Studio co-founder and creative director Phil Robb said, “We are not resting on any past laurels. Our goal is to take all we’ve learned and push forward. We know that’s a tall order. We’re growing the team considerably because we’re stepping up to the biggest challenge in this studio’s history. We know this title has to stand out and we fully intend to make that happen.” You can read up on the announcement FAQ on Turtle Rock’s official site.