Back 4 Blood is “finished” – developers stop working, there are no more DLCs

The journey for zombie shooter Back 4 Blood is over. Less than 2 years after the release it is clear: the developers stop working on the game.

For many players it should be the spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. Others feared that, like Evolve, it was ill-fated and would soon be discontinued. Now the developers of Turtle Rock themselves have announced: Back 4 Blood will not be further developed. You are finished with the game and are now working on a new project.

Developers say goodbye, announce new project: In a rather small post, the developers behind Back 4 Blood explained that the game is now finished and they will move on (via turtlerockstudios.com). Exactly it says:

Greetings, Cleaner!

What an amazing year 2022 has been for us. First we want to thank all of you for making Back 4 Blood what it is today. With three expansions – Tunnels of Terror, Children of the Worm and River of Blood – we shared an amazing adventure behind the walls of Fort Hope. This phase of our war against the Ridden is now coming to an end.

Turtle Rock Studios is actually quite a small studio for making big AAA titles. We don’t have enough people to keep working on Back 4 Blood while we create another game – yes, another game! So it’s time for us to put our heads together, get back to the lab and work on the next big thing.

Intrepid cleaners, this is no goodbye. (…)

Now, while we’ll be a little quieter in the short term, we promise we’ll be back – bigger, bolder, and better than ever.

Back 4 Blood has changed drastically in 12 months

Comparing the current version of Back 4 Blood to the game’s original release, a lot has changed. The controversial card system, where you gradually draw the deck (the “perks”), has been abolished. Instead, all characters start each turn at full power, and you can find additional perks throughout the campaign.

The three DLCs announced before the release were released and expanded the game with 2 more acts with numerous maps, perk cards, weapons and new zombie variations.

Only the PvP mode could only inspire a very small part of the players. The laps were too short, the preparation time too long and whoever started with a random group was stomped into the ground by experienced teams. Here, Back 4 Blood clearly fell short of expectations, which were difficult to meet due to Left 4 Dead’s popular “versus campaign”.

Does that mean Back 4 Blood is “dead”? That probably depends on the point of view. The Back 4 Blood servers will continue to operate and the game will continue to be playable for the foreseeable future. However, there will be no more new content, so the game is now “complete”.

In the Back 4 Blood subreddit, the message was received rather negatively. Many are feeling disappointed and are now seeing a “second Evolve” being dropped way too soon. Others are positive about the future, as the developers announced in 2021 that Back 4 Blood would become a “bigger franchise”. This could mean that the next Turtle Rock Studios title will also be set in the world of Back 4 Blood.

Cortyn says: Since its release, Back 4 Blood has been one of those games in my circle of friends that we keep coming back to for an act or two of the campaign on high difficulty. The job as a “cleaner” hasn’t gotten boring even after all this time and the replay value is still high due to the “corruption cards” that make each run different.

Of course it’s sad that Back 4 Blood won’t get any more content. However, I don’t think it’s that bad if a game is simply “finished” in times of battle passes, seasons and more and more new DLCs. Whether you see this as a “dead game” or simply as a completed game that you can always return to, everyone has to decide for themselves.

Have you played Back 4 Blood?