Valve Acquires Left 4 Dead Dev Turtle Rock

Half Life developer Valve has announced that it has acquired Orange County-based developer Turtle Rock Studios, currently working on the forthcoming Source-engine multiplayer zombie-slaying action title Left 4 Dead. Valve president Gabe Newell called the acquisition "an easy decision" based on the long-standing relationship between the two. Turtle Rock previously has collaborated with Valve on a number of Counter-Strike projects, including the game's Xbox port. Newell also said that the new internal studio would give Valve "a base from which to expand our development activities in the Los Angeles area." Said Turtle Rock founder Michael Booth, "Valve has had great success bringing in projects and teams such as Team Fortress and Portal. As I spent time working and talking with the creators of those products over the past several years, it became clear that this was the right next step for myself, my colleagues at Turtle Rock, our customers, and our products. We are excited to be a part of such a visionary and forward-thinking company."