Valve picks up Turtle Rock Studios

Consolidation isn’t just a buzz word in the gaming industry, it’s also becoming common practice. Just a few days ago, Valve Corporation snagged another developer for its fold, and the recent addition wasn’t very surprising: it was none other than Turtle Rock Studios, the people behind the development of Left 4 Dead (Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Xbox 360). More in store at the full story.

News that Turtle Rock Studios has been acquired hit the press waves, pinning Valve Corporation as its brand new owner. The deal wasn’t a shocker, however, as the game developer studio has already been working with Valve for the multiplayer co-op horror shooter Left 4 Dead on the PC and Microsoft Xbox 360 for a while now.

And that’s where this news turns interesting. From what we could gather from the announcement, the deal also includes the Turtle Rock’s fledging franchise, which presumably means that Left 4 Dead – once completed – will soon join Valve’s collection of popular franchises, such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike. This will also mean that Left 4 Dead will definitely be for sale over Valve’s online distribution service, Steam Games.

But the effects of the acquisition also goes both ways. Turtle Rock, currently developing the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead simultaneously with the PC version, can offer Valve a chance to compete in the console market. Overall, both parties seem pretty pleased with the move. There were no third-party reactions just yet, but that may change soon. And when they do come in, we’ll be sure to update.

Buy: [ Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) ]
Buy: [ Left 4 Dead (PC) ]