[Update] Valve has confirmed to IGN that Left 4 Dead 3 is not in development.
Original Story…
When Valve dropped the trailer for Half-Life: Alyx, it was quite the surprise for Half-Life fans. While most have been waiting for Valve to drop the fabled Half-Life 3 installment, this new game would bring another adventure for players but in the form of VR. As a result, there has been a ton of newcomers to the platform which opted to go with Valve’s VR headset known as the Index. Now with its newfound popularity, the platform may be the home for additional Valve IP releases.
One of the beloved IPs that Valve owns that may have fans eagerly picking up a new installment in the Left 4 Dead franchise. With only two installments available, the series has remained on ice since 2012. That may soon change as a new supposed leak from Valve News Network has sources claiming that the popularity of the Half-Life: Alyx trailer caused Valve to go back and rethink their plans for the Valve Index. One of the means to keep the VR headset supported is through a new installment from Left 4 Dead.
According to VNN, Left 4 Dead 3 was tossed around in production before being killed off. However, because Valve is selling out on their Index headsets and the positive reception over Half-Life: Alyx, Valve apparently has plans to bring out Left 4 Dead 3 and continue its development process though this time aimed for VR.
Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. However, Half-Life: Alyx was extremely popular online after its initial trailer was released. Likewise, Valve has been struggling to keep the Index VR headsets in stock so providing more content beyond Half-Life: Alyx is likely ideal on Valve’s end. With that said, for those that are wanting a more traditional Left 4 Dead experience, the original developers who had since left Valve, has been working on a spiritual successor to the series known as Back 4 Blood which does not have a release date as of yet.