Valve secretly leaked a Left 4 Dead 2 trailer to dodge the ESRB
In 2009, Ars Technica reported on a leaked trailer for the upcoming game Left 4 Dead 2, describing the footage as resembling high-gloss action movie quality. Now, the story requires an update: the trailer leak was intentionally orchestrated by Valve, according to former Valve writer Chet Faliszek. In a newly posted video discussing cut lines in the game, Faliszek revealed that Valve leaked the trailer prior to its official release, as they faced resistance from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).
The ESRB, an industry self-regulatory group since 1994, assigns age-appropriate ratings to thousands of games submitted for approval. At the time, any publisher seeking shelf space in major retailers had to comply with the ESRB's standards.
Written by urgent.news from Ars Technica's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
