Valve Acquires Turtle Rock Studios News

Valve Corporation took a further step towards global domination today with the acquisition of Turtle Rock Studios. Although the name may not be instantly familiar, the Orange County based developer has enjoyed a close relationship with Valve Corporation, working extensively on the Counter-Strike franchise in the past.

Most recently, Turtle Rock Studios has focussed its efforts on the online co-op survival/horror title, Left 4 Dead. Pitting the last remaining four Survivors against a legion of the Infected, Left 4 Dead promises to bring 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead (2004) to PC and Xbox 360 gamers later in the year.

"We have been seeing very strong growth with Steam and Source, our content distribution and development platforms, up over 150% over the last 12 months. Given our expectations for Left 4 Dead and our long-standing relationships with members of the Turtle Rock team, this was an easy decision. It also gives us a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve.

"Left 4 Dead fills a long-standing demand gamers have had for a coop first-person action experience, and it will also help Valve's expansion into the console market," added Doug Lombardi, Valve's VP of marketing.

"Valve has had great success bringing in projects and teams such as Team Fortress and Portal. As I spent time working and talking with the creators of those products over the past several years, it became clear that this was the right next step for myself, my colleagues at Turtle Rock, our customers, and our products," said Michael Booth, founder and CEO of Turtle Rock Studios.

"We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company." Founded in 2002 by Michael Booth, Turtle Rock Studios is the creator of Left 4 Dead, named one 2008's most wanted titles by many of today's leading game-enthusiast publications and Web sites.