Yes, many are once again hoping for Left 4 Dead 3. Because in the game files of Counter-Strike 2 there is a hint that can hardly be ignored.

Valve is notorious for its games, but also for not counting to three. Fans would certainly welcome long overdue sequels like Dota 3, Team Fortress 3 and of course Half-Life 3 with open arms. And then there”s Left 4 Dead 3.

Rumours and speculation about a sequel to the co-op shooter series with far too many zombies have been around from time to time. But now, for a change, for good reason! Because shortly after the announcement of Counter-Strike 2 fans have found a promising hint in the game files of the test version.

But don”t rejoice too soon: You shouldn”t really hope for a Left 4 Dead 3 at this point. That Valve will actually release a new part of the series soon is not necessarily likely, even with the new discovery.

Left 4 Dead 3 is somehow stuck in Counter-Strike 2

What was found? In the Steam subreddit the user (Pap3s) drew attention to the discovery. In the game files of Counter-Strike 2, a few lines of code can be found that describe something about the product title left4dead3 . So of course the assumption is that it could be a reference to Left 4 Dead 3.

     Left 4 Dead 3 spotted in CS2 files!
by     u/PaP3s in     Steam  

☻

What does that mean? Damn good question that can”t be answered at this point. Neither we nor the community can really figure out what we found in the CS2 files. At least the text line Priority = none amuses numerous users under the post. 

Priority: none. Yes, we”ve figured that out ourselves by now.

User Sirpunpirate on Reddit

Directly indicative of Valve policy regarding third game parts – perhaps the developers were simply joking around here. A logical explanation, however, would be that this is a leftover from the development of the Source 2 engine. Robin Walker from Valve revealed in 2020 that they initially used levels from Left 4 Dead when building Source 2.

What are the chances of a Left 4 Dead 3? Over the years there have been rumours of a revival of the Left 4 Dead series – but in early 2020 there was an unequivocal rejection from Valve. At least at that point, no developer was working on a potential Left 4 Dead 3, and the brand has been on hold ever since.

It”s impossible to say whether this has changed in the meantime. In the past years Valve worked on projects like the Steam Deck, Half-Life: Alyx and now of course Counter-Strike 2. Whether there will ever be another part with a 3 in the title?

What do you think about the find in the game files of Counter-Strike 2? Would you be happy to see a Left 4 Dead 3 or can you continue to do without it after all these years? Let us know in the comments