Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced Valve's new zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead (L4D) is now available at retailers worldwide for the PC and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Early critical response and sales indicate Left 4 Dead is on track to become one of the top holiday game releases. Commercially, Left 4 Dead's pre-order numbers surpassed those of Valve's 2007 blockbuster, The Orange Box, by more than 160%.

The game has been heralded critically, with Official Xbox Magazine U.S. awarding it a 95% score and calling it "the most intense multiplayer experience on Xbox 360." Maximum PC has given the title a perfect 10 out of 10, saying the game "didn't just meet our high expectations for the zombie apocalypse, it exceeded them." = Game Informer gave L4D a 9.25, declaring that it "innovates in ways that will shape the future of gaming." Left 4 Dead has also been nominated for three Spike TV Video Game Awards, including Best Action game, Best Multiplayer game and Best PC game.

"The goal for Left 4 Dead was to create a game that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer titles such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action classics such as the Half-Life series of games," stated Gabe Newell, president and co-founder of Valve. "The success of this experiment has resulted in tremendous pre-order performance, reviews, and the fastest-growing online player number of any Valve title."

Set in a modern day survival-horror universe, the game casts you as one of four survivors in an epic struggle against swarming hordes of zombies and terrifying mutants. The four expansive campaigns offer single player and co-operative game modes. Left 4 Dead also features a Versus mode that allows players to take control of one of four types of "Boss Infected," with each "Boss" possessing a mutant ability instead of traditional firearms. In addition, Left 4 Dead offers gamers the chance to go "behind the scenes" of the making of the game via the "Director's Commentary" mode.

"Valve launched Left 4 Dead with a $10 million dollar marketing campaign spanning television, print and online advertising plus non-traditional outdoor placements in many major cities in the US and Europe," said Doug Lombardi, vice president of marketing at Valve. "These programs, in addition to the community-focused activities such as the 'Dude, where's my thumb?" photo contest have helped expose Left 4 Dead's innovative gameplay to gamers and put it on track to become one of 2008's top releases."

For more information on Left 4 Dead please visit www.l4d.com