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Gear VR was the 'Evolve' and 'Left 4 Dead' studio's savior
"Chaotic." That's how Turtle Rock Studios president Steve Goldstein described the 14 months between its last AAA game, Evolve, being effectively killed and now. The four-hunter-versus-one-gigantic-monster online multiplayer game struggled to retain players after it was released for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in early 2015. Last June, Evolve transitioned from a $60 game to a free-to-play one. As a result, it went from roughly 100 players per month to more than 15,000. You'd think that would have been enough to keep the lights on, but you'd be wrong. Four months later, publisher 2K Games pulled the plug, saying that while the servers would remain online for the foreseeable future, the game wouldn't be getting any more updates. "It was absolutely looking bleak, but sadly that's not unusual in our space," Goldstein said. "Everyone who works here knows that they are taking a risk, right? That's not a problem unique to us." If all you've paid attention to are headlines on gaming and tech news sites, you'd think that Turtle Rock has been on the ropes ever since. But in the last year or so, thanks to Oculus' aggressive investments in virtual reality games and other experiences, Turtle Rock has been quietly building a mobile VR safety net in case its next $100 million project goes the way of Evolve.
'Evolve' continues its rebirth with new co-op mode
The asymmetric shooter Evolve is experiencing a renaissance. Reacting to dwindling player number, developer Turtle Rock made Evolve free to play, rebalanced the gameplay and promised more additions down the line. The changes, at least so far, have been a success, and now the developer is introducing a new mode that scraps the core 4-vs-1 dynamic in favor of a more traditional co-op experience. Called "The Deepest Dark," the mode sits alongside the other play options, rather than replacing them.
Valve acquires Left4Dead dev Turtle Rock Studios
Valve Corporation today announced that it has acquired Turtle Rock Studios, developers of the upcoming zombie survival game Left 4 Dead. The company has also contributed various maps for Counter-Strike: Source, including a remake of cs_militia. Given Turtle Rock's close relationship with Valve, we're not too surprised by this move. Previously, Valve has hired developers of Counter-Strike, Team Fortress and Narbacular Drop, the latter title serving as a spiritual precursor for Portal.Left 4 Dead, originally announced November 2006 and utilizing the Source Engine, is a four-player co-op game where a team of survivors take on a horde of zombies and four player-controlled "super zombies." It is slated for release later this year.
Video: Left 4 Dead co-op zombie slaying
We have to admit it, the concept behind Left 4 Dead is awesome-on-a-stick. Like most gamers, we love cooperative gamin, we love squad based shooters, and we love killing zombies. Left 4 Dead takes all those things and combines them into a delicious sushi roll of carnal delights. Oh, and don't forget that the zombies (known as "the infected") are playable as well, which provides the final touch of wasabi to the aforementioned, metaphorical sushi roll. We rounded up a couple of off screen videos of the game from QuakeCon 2007. Check 'em out and dream of the day you can join in the fun (which should be this winter for 360 owners).Be warned: videos are violent and possibly NSFW.
Video: Shaky Left 4 Dead zombownage
Video footage has surfaced from the showdownLAN of the upcoming PC and Xbox 360 zombie vs. human shooter, Left 4 Dead. Brought to us by Turtle Rock Studios and Valve, who made a little ditty called Counter-Strike. The video above shows four survivors fighting off a bunch of the Infected. Gameplay looks fast, furious, and bloody. Not shown in the video are the "Super Infected' which are more formidable than the fodder shown above. We'll be sure to keep a keen eye on this as more details emerge.[Via Joystiq]
Today's most interesting shaky cam footage: Left 4 Dead at showdownLAN
Footage from showdownLAN has surfaced on showing off a public playtest of Left 4 Dead, an ambitious zombie-centric -esque team game from Turtle Rock Studios (Counter-Strike) and Valve. Four survivors take on waves of the Infected (think 28 Days Later) and four Super Infected as they make their way to a helicopter landing point.Shown in the clip is footage from four player-controlled survivors. Though the Super Infected can also be player-controlled, we don't have any video of that in action. There is, however, a moment where you can spot The Smoker strangling a survivor with its tongue. The video is grainy and shaky at times, but it's the best we've got on this so-far reclusive game.Left 4 Dead 411 has impressions from people who attended showdownLAN, as well as a gallery of the event. The game is due out this summer for PC and this winter for Xbox 360. Video embedded after the break.
Left 4 Dead: co-op zombie slaying action [update 2]
Let's talk about great game conventions. Let's see, there's guns. Everyone likes those. Zombies, gotta love zombies. What else? Ooh, co-op. There's nothing like good co-op. Turtle Rock Studios, the team behind the AI bots in Counter-Strike, looks to combine all of these things in one glorious package with their latest offering, Left 4 Dead. Left 4 Dead puts players in the middle of a contemporary setting in which an incredibly virulent strain of rabies has overtaken the general populace. So, we're not dealing with zombies per se, but definitely crazed people with a penchant for biting their neighbors. Players will create a group of four different survivors, each with different personalities and backgrounds, and fight for survival. Players will cooperate in a survival horror setting, blasting their way through several different "campaigns" which are essentially a series of connected maps that end in a final standoff as players wait for rescue. But here's the twist: the enemies (the "infected") are playable as well. Whereas the human survivors have the same basic weapons and skills, the infected are divided into classes. Some enemies can vomit blood to attract other infected, others can reel in survivors with a long tongue, and the "tank" class can even power through concrete walls. Finally, Turtle Rock claims that their next gen AI technology will allow human players to drop in and out of the game without affecting the overall experience or restarting the scenario.The idea of playing an online enabled, co-op survival horror game with playable enemies is positively dreamy (though not exactly original). If all that wasn't enough, the game is expected to hit the 360 by the end of 2007. Looks like we might have one more to put up on the big board.[Via Xboxygen] Update: Replaced crappy not moving image with awesome trailer. Thanks for spotting this, Mike.Update 2: Turtle Rock implemented bots into CS. They didn't create the game.
