Valve: Left 4 Dead Crash Course expansion is not free on XBL because of Microsoft

A new expansion is coming for Valve’s Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360 and PC). Thing is, on the PC, it’s free. On Xbox Live, it’s gonna cost 560 MS Points (GB£ 4.76 / € 6.72). Curious bit, huh? Well, Valve’s Chet Faliszek has come out with an explanation, and he’s pointing at Microsoft.

A new expansion is coming for Valve’s Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360 and PC). Thing is, on the PC, it’s free. On Xbox Live, it’s gonna cost 560 MS Points (GB£ 4.76 / € 6.72). Curious bit, huh? Well, Valve’s Chet Faliszek has come out with an explanation, and he’s pointing at Microsoft.

“We own our platform, Steam,” he said. “Microsoft owns their own platform. They wanted to make sure there’s an economy of value there. And so we have a price for the expansion Crash Course.

Careful to not portray Microsoft as the greedy scums they’re often accused of being, Faliszek clarifies:

Well, they helped us get the first one out for free. We had the one DLC out for free. And I think.. they have to look and say, wow, we’re kind of being unfair to everybody else if these guys can do that.

It’s not like we’re [Valve] is looking at this as, ‘Oh my god, we need some money, we’re not going to charge,’ obviously, or we’d do it on the PC. So it’s just the kind of way the system works right now.

Crash Course is windowed for a September release, although Faliszek reiterates that no decision has been made yet as to expansion’s compatibility with L4D2.

• Left 4 Dead is newest member of GoTY collection
• Left 4 Dead 2 Finale gameplay video, no crossover between L4D1 and 2, says Lombardi
  

Via Eurogamer