With just more than a month before Left 4 Dead 2 drops, the leaders of a boycott designed to pressure Valve into continuing support for the original game declared victory Tuesday.
"We have accomplished everything we can on our manifesto," said Agent of Chaos, who led the drive with fellow Left 4 Dead fan Walking_Target, as he announced the boycott's end.
But the results of the two Steam community members' efforts will be more than they bargained for. Agent of Chaos and Walking_Target started the boycott in June to protest Valve's Left 4 Dead sequel, which will be released in November, about a year after the original cooperative zombie-survival game. The boycott leaders' main gripe was that the release of a sequel so soon after the original would mean the effective end of Valve's support of the original game, and split the community into two camps.
Valve responded by inviting the pair to visit the company's Seattle office, and reassuring them personally that the company would continue to support the original game. In turn, the boycott ringleaders have declared their undertaking kaput. They plan to close the boycott group Oct. 21, saying that the forum has been overrun by trolls.
"People have lost sight of why we're here," said Walking_Target. "People are unwilling or unable to wait for Valve to follow through in any cohesive way."
Other members of the boycott group have questioned the notion of completely shutting down the boycott: Just because Agent of Chaos and Walking_Target have been swayed doesn't mean the rest feel the same way, they say.
Here's the scary thing. They may have a point.
As Left 4 Dead 2's release date looms, and news of all the nifty new features being added to the game continue to spread, it's going to be harder and harder to generate enthusiasm for the original game – no matter how many add-ons, bug fixes and gameplay modes Valve spits out for Left 4 Dead.
Downloadable content or no, in a month the bulk of the zombie-killing masses will migrate to Left 4 Dead 2. If you're among the Left 4 Dead faithful, that means it will be harder to put together a versus match or co-op game, because you'll be drawing from a smaller pool of friends and strangers.
Valve's eagerness to please the most vocal of its consumers could encourage a slew of boycotts in the future. Now every gamer with a gripe will expect their favorite game designers to let them visit their offices, grill their development team and demand firm dates for every add-on and patch.
Valve's awesome community outreach may have greased a slippery slope with Boomer bile. At the bottom of the hill: the shambling masses of the gaming public, slavering for more.
Image courtesy L4D2 Boycott
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