The multiplayer zombie shooter video game “Left 4 Dead 3” is back in mainstream news online following a supposed accidental posting made by a certain Valve employee recently.
Tristan Reidford, a conceptual artist working for American game developer Valve Corporation, reportedly made the mistake of not double-checking his screenshots before uploading them for the purpose of showing an unrelated Destination Workshop Tutorial, notes Gamerant.
The tutorial does not contain any materials, information, or assets from “Left 4 Dead 3” but some of those who looked closely into the screenshots saw one of Reidford’s most-recently accessed folders and it had a filename of ‘Left4Dead3.’
As a result, it triggered speculations that the artist may also be working on “Left 4 Dead 3.” It would have been a plain oversight on Reidford’s part but shortly thereafter, the same folder has been removed from the tutorial.
While there has been no official statement by either Reidford or Valve Corporation, the screenshot was quietly replaced with a nearly-identical one with the main difference being the lack of the ‘Left4Dead3’ folder on his recently-accessed file list.
A dead giveaway
It could be an honest mistake on the part of Reidford but some critics are saying that it could also be intentional on the part of Valve Corporation to keep the excitement about “Left 4 Dead 3” going online.
For one, the accidental screenshot was first spotted by ValveTime which is a Valve fansite. The tidbit of information was also found in a tutorial for Destination Workshop Tools.
The ‘Left4Dead3’ folder is a dead giveaway, which made critics doubt if indeed it was uploaded by accident.
In fact, the critics are saying that the file directory has been scrolled down with the sole purpose of displaying the ‘Left4Dead3’ folder, which is an obvious tease by Valve.
Although it has not said anything official about the development or release date of “Left 4 Dead 3,” Valve has practically made it a way of life to tease gamers about the game for so long that some already think that it was only meant to keep the level of excitement and anticipation to the game hot until the game development company is ready to unveil it.
Coming out next year?
Valve Corporation has yet to say an official statement or pronouncement regarding the development of the highly-anticipated “Left 4 Dead 3” but rumors are getting louder and louder that the game might come out to the gaming consoles next year.
There have been rumors before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2016 held in California last month that the game might be unveiled by Valve in the event. It turns out that the rumors are not true as both the game and Valve were no-shows at the event.
According to the latest speculations, Valve has set aside the development work for its other highly-anticipated horror-survival first-person shooter video game “Half-Life 3” to be able to focus on the completion of “Left 4 Dead 3.”
Its predecessor game, “Left 4 Dead 2” was released way back in 2009 so having a new iteration eight years later is just about right, although given today’s technology, it is almost like an eternity in gaming development.
While not much detail have been made available regarding the game, some are speculating that Valve may follow the approach that it used with the development of the first two games of the franchise.
While Valve has not said anything, there are rumors saying that “Left 4 Dead 3” could actually come out on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One early next year.
The speculations were based on the assumption that Valve needed to release “Left 4 Dead 3” early next year so that it shall have sufficient time to work on and subsequently released “Half-Life 3” in 2018.
Assuming that there is some semblance of truth to such rumors, if Valve shall make the release date of “Left 4 Dead 3” in the second half of 2017, the game development company will be pressed for time and under pressure to develop and come out with “Half-Life 3” the following year.