Fending off a zombie apocalypse still garners plenty of appeal to video game players.
Developers Valve Software have revealed that 2 million copies of cooperative zombie shooter Left 4 Dead 2 were sold worldwide since its debut November 17. Sales to date for the follow-up to 2008's Left 4 Dead are more than double the original game.
In a statement, Valve cites last week's Black Friday promotions for the unexpected sales surge. Some retailers such as Amazon were selling the game for as low as $39.99, roughly $20 less than the standard new game release.
Left 4 Dead 2's strong start could also be attributed to an aggressive marketing blitz from Valve, who spent $25 million to promote the title.
Also, news on downloadable content for the title is "coming very soon," says Doug Lombardi, Valve's marketing vice president.
Left 4 Dead 2 follows four survivors of a zombie apocalypse, as they attempt to escape hordes of the undead invading the southern United States. Check out our review of the game for more details.
Readers, surprised by the sales numbers?
By Brett Molina
About Mike Snider
Mike Snider began covering the video game industry during the Super Nintendo-Sega Genesis clash in 1992. An original pinball wizard, he eventually was seduced by Robotron: 2084 and Tempest. These days he is a fan of action/shooters and lives out his Keith Moon fantasies playing a mean drum kit on music games. More about Mike.
About Brett Molina
Brett Molina has been writing about video games for USA TODAY since 2005. He is well-versed in Madden NFL, the fighting genre and first-person shooters. The first video game he played was Asteroids at a local arcade. He has been hooked ever since. More about Brett.
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