Left 4 Dead 2 boycott ends after co-founder meets Valve

All is happy and good in the land of Left 4 Dead 2 fans.

Well, OK, not exactly but the co-founders of a group boycotting the upcoming game are now satisfied with Valve’s efforts to support the original L4D.

Today (October 14, 2009) the boycott leaders announced the closing of the group and, at least in their eyes, an end to the boycott. Valve flew group co-founder known as Agent of Chaos to its studio for a free tour and to assure him that the first game in the successful zombie shooter series would keep getting support.

In September 2000 Valve released “Crash Course,” a new campaign that fills in the gap between “No Mercy” and “Death Toll.” Valve also said it will add 4 vs. 4 matchmaking to L4D before its sequel hits stores November 17, 2009.

As you might imagine, not everyone in the vast L4D community is quite so happy. Since the end of the boycott came after a free tour of the studio, more than a few of the 41,000 players who joined the boycott have branded Agent of Chaos a sellout.

Even the most die hard members of the boycott group (which will officially be shut down October 21, 2009) have to know this was probably a losing battle. Backed by a $25 million ad campaign and generally favorable reviews for the first game, there doesn’t seem to be much that can stop this sequel from being a huge hit.

Here are theannouncement posts from the co-founders that the boycott has ended as posted on the group’s web site:

Agent of Chaos:

We have accomplished everything we can on our manifesto. We’ve been dealing with Valve ever since our group started, then we met them in-person and now we’re at the point of concluding our discussions. Our goal wasn’t to steer people away from L4D2, it was to get Valve’s attention and have them support original L4D. We succeeded and that’s where our mission ends; nothing more or less.

The recently released Crash Course was just the start. Future updates will continue to roll in, and 4v4 matchmaking is first in line. Valve has confirmed to us that it’ll be available before the release of L4D2. Also don’t forget, we have another DLC pack confirmed for sometime in the near future and of course, there will be bug fixes. This is as good as it can get people.

As for Left 4 Dead 2 we are all aware it expands on L4D’s gameplay and takes it to the next level. Its successful sales only confirm that we’ll get to slaughter more zombies in future, not that we have failed. We understand some of you have a problem with its price tag. Personally, I’m quite surprised with the discount on pre-orders; A 4 Pack bundle brings it down to only $33.75 for each person. I see many people took advantage of this including “boycotters”, but to be honest that’s a fair price. In other words, that’s what expansions cost. You can’t blame them for making this decision. Not everyone shared the same thoughts here.

Walking_Target and I have made a decision. I’ll let him to continue…

Walking_Target :

As Agent has said, we have reached a decision about this boycott.

Effective Wednesday October 21st 2009 at 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, this group will be closed.

People have lost sight of why we’re here. The comments are always full of trolls, people bashing Valve and phishers. What is more, people are unwilling or unable to wait for Valve to follow through in any cohesive way. Valve is at least trying to make things right, there will be speed bumps on the way, however we will get there. Even if it is not as quickly as we would like. The boycott has served its purpose and it is now up to you all as individuals to decide what is right for you.

As a collective we have done more than achieve a few goals, we have paved the way for Developer-Community relations in the future. No matter what the press or other gamers say, we have made an indelible mark upon the future of this industry. You should all be proud, we certainly are.

Agent and I would like to invite you to follow us in our future endeavours.

You can find me at http://www.thecriticalgamer.net providing the gaming community with another outlet and

Agent at http://steamcommunity.com/groups/junglecrisis hard at work with what promises to be an epic L4D campaign.

Semper ad Meliora

- Agent of Chaos and Walking_Target

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