Back 4 Blood developer Turtle Rock Studios has confirmed that the game won’t include a campaign versus mode, a popular feature from its spiritual predecessor Left 4 Dead.
Turtle Rock made the announcement on the Back 4 Blood Discord, first spotted by Eurogamer.
"We do not have plans to have a campaign versus mode at this time,” Turtle Rock said.
There’s a few distinctions to be made here: Back 4 Blood will feature a versus mode that’s smaller in scope, letting two teams duke it out as either Cleaners (humans) or the Ridden (zombies). Left 4 Dead’s campaign versus mode let players try to make it through a lengthy campaign level as either a human or zombie, ending at a safe house. Turtle Rock Studios did promote Back 4 Blood’s versus mode in behind-the-scenes footage, but didn’t claim it would be identical to Left 4 Dead’s.
When asked why the feature wasn’t in Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock co-founder and design director Chris Ashton said. “We 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.”
Some players expressed a large sense of disappointment on the Back 4 Blood subreddit, while others defended Turtle Rock and blamed fellow fans for unrealistic expectations. Despite the negative reception, Back 4 Blood’s beta is performing admirably on Steam, reaching heights of 100,000 concurrent players.
You can read IGN’s thoughts on the Back 4 Blood beta, including our impressions of the new Swarm mode. You can also check out gameplay from Back 4 Blood's first act missions including Blue Dog Hollow: The Sound of Thunder and The Devil's Return: The Crossing. Here's how to access the Back 4 Blood beta if you want to hop in and murder some zombies.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/meatbag for IGN.