Valve has announced through their online distrubution system Steam that the original Left 4 Dead will be receiving a new campaign titled "Crash Course" this September. Unfortunately they will not be able to keep their "DLC for free" mantra going, and it will be priced at 560 MSP (or as they refer to them "Gamer points"). This will either bring the game to the forefront of everyone's mind before the sequel drops in November, or annoy people to the point of taking L4D2 off their radar, as many people have already done due to Valve's "rush" in getting a full retail title on shelves instead of simply releasing extras through DLC.

But, before everyone goes all anti-Valve... the price of this DLC was not their decision. Microsoft is undoubtedly forcing it on them. I'm sure they won't refuse the paycheck from any downloads, but they'd still prefer any post-release content to be free. Time will tell if they throw in some extra achievements for the trouble, but if they had the content ready to release for free on the PC, they may as well offer it to the 360 users as well, even if they can't just give it away.

Here is the official release:

August 4, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the next major downloadable content (DLC) update for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead (L4D), the #1 new game title on Xbox 360 and PC in 2008

Entitled "Crash Course," the latest DLC delivers new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay to both platforms. Targeted for release in September, "Crash Course" bridges the gap between the end of the "No Mercy" campaign and the beginning of "Death Toll" in the original game, expanding the game universe with new locations, new dialogue from the original cast, and an explosive finale

While containing both Survival maps and a Co-operative Campaign, the primary goal of "Crash" is to deliver a complete Versus mode experience in just 30 minutes, resulting in a streamlined version of the game's existing Versus campaigns. A recharge timer for infected teammates has also been added, and item spawn behavior has changed for more balanced gameplay.

"Since the release of Left 4 Dead last November, the design team has been excited about creating new experiences for this world and allowing players to do the same, by releasing much of our internal toolset, like the Survival Pack and Authoring Tools," said Gabe Newell. "We're working with the fans toward the ongoing entertainment value of the product."

Left 4 Dead is an action horror game from Valve that blends the social entertainment experience of multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike and Team Fortress with the dramatic, narrative experience made popular in single player action game classics such as the Half-Life series of games. Released in November of 2008, L4D has earned over 50 industry awards from outlets around the world and sold almost 3 million copies worldwide.

Left 4 Dead: Crash Course is targeted for release in September and will be available free of charge on the PC and for 560 Gamer points on Xbox Live.

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