Left 4 Dead 2 writer says Valve intentionally 'leaked' its cinematic trailer to get around ESRB rules: 'I think we can't get trouble for that now'
Chet Faliszek says the ESRB "wouldn't let" Valve release the trailer.
Valve intentionally leaked the cinematic trailer for Left 4 Dead 2 to bypass the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rules, according to former Valve writer and Left 4 Dead designer Chet Faliszek. The leak occurred shortly before the game's release in 2009, just one year after the original Left 4 Dead. Faliszek revealed that Valve faced run-ins with various countries and ratings boards over the series' depictions of violence and profanity.
The ESRB's regulations differed between trailers and the games themselves, with trailers potentially being banned outright if they contained the same content as the games. Valued feared that the ESRB would ban the trailer due to its content, so they intentionally leaked it before Valve was forced to comply with the ratings board's rules.
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