Rockpapershotgun iconRockpapershotgunSep 5, 2026

The ESRB wouldn't let Valve release the cinematic trailer for Left 4 Dead 2, so what did they do? They "leaked" it, obviously

Though perhaps that impression would have changed had I seen its cinematic trailer as soon as Valve had wanted to release it. The problem was, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board weren't so hot on the game, including its marketing materials, so that left Valve with one option: leaking the trailer themselves.

The ESRB wouldn't let Valve release the cinematic trailer for Left 4 Dead 2, so what did they do? They "leaked" it, obviously

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Though perhaps that impression would have changed had I seen its cinematic trailer as soon as Valve had wanted to release it.

The problem was, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board weren't so hot on the game, including its marketing materials, so that left Valve with one option: leaking the trailer themselves.

My only experience of Left 4 Dead 2 is a handful of sessions in my youth where a friend handed me a controller (me, a person whose shooter experience extended to Ratchet and Clank at the time), told me...

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Though perhaps that impression would have changed had I seen its cinematic trailer as soon as Valve had wanted to release it. The problem was, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board weren't so hot on the game, including its marketing materials, so that left Valve with one option: leaking the trailer themselves.

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