Back 4 Blood will not include a campaign versus mode

It’s a major and controversial removal from Left 4 Dead.

Image via Turtle Rock Studios

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Left 4 Dead series creator Turtle Rock Studios revealed that its cooperative first-person shooter, Back 4 Blood, will not include a campaign versus mode. Instead, the title will continue to rely on the standard versus mode already built-in, which features two teams that duke it out as the Cleaners and the Ridden. The news was revealed through the official Discord server’s FAQ.

Back 4 Blood co-founder and design director Chris Ashton responded to a fan’s question of why the popular mode from classic Left 4 Dead will not be in the new game by stating that players “have a lot of defensive equipment and our specials are good at ambushing. Defending worked far better for our game than running from A-B.” Considering that many fans of the game are also Left 4 Dead veterans, the news has been controversial if the Back 4 Blood subreddit is any indication.

The early access beta for the game just ended this weekend and reached nearly 100,000 concurrent players during its run. The public beta is coming up next, running from August 12 to 16 on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Meanwhile, Back 4 Blood’s release date is October 12 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. You can check out our impressions of the alpha version to better gauge the upcoming beta.