The early August flare-up of Valve’s project line, brought on by a series of Reddit image leaks, put three notoriously obscure projects under the spotlight once more: Half-Life 3, Left 4 Dead 3, and the Source 2 engine. To the dismay of conspiracy nuts everywhere, newer testimony from a Half-Life voice actor has diminished the chances of a Half-Life 3 (he later claimed actors are usually the last to know anything). Left 4 Dead 3 and Source 2, however, have remained wholly plausible. Better still, a new update (courtesy of the inexhaustible scouring of NeoGAF ) has uncovered yet another bit of supporting evidence. This time, it’s straight from an official Valve video (seen above).
The video shows a speed drawing of a Lobster Hunter by Andrea Wicklund. More importantly, a folder titled “L4D3” shows up in the background, and with a “last modified” date of July 31 st , 2012. Similarly, related image files show a date of June 12 th 2012. On one hand, this points to Left 4 Dead 3 having begun its development process (though to what extent we may never know) back in mid-2012. At the same time, it could also simply mean Valve is as good at teasing players as ever.
Until Valve lays out the red carpet leading to a retail copy of the zombie sequel with obnoxious neon lights around it, we’d best stay cautious in our optimism.
Source: Examiner