The creator of Left 4 Dead is making a brand new co-op shooter and I need it

Few games come close to the quality of Left 4 Dead. From the hordes of zombies to the player interactions, it was the perfect storm of noughties gaming culture distilled into a brilliant game. Valve captured lightning in a bottle a second time around before leaving the series to languish in lieu of making a third entry (surprise surprise). However, the designer of Left 4 Dead, Mike Booth, is leading a new studio. Booth has confirmed on social media that Bad Robot Games is working on a co-op shooter in the same vein as his classic zombie game, and you can sign up for playtest access right now.

"I'm working on a brand new project," Booth says on Reddit. "A 4-player co-op shooter built on the foundations of what made L4D special. If you enjoyed the teamwork, tension, and replayability of my past games, you'll probably find this one interesting."

While Left 4 Dead is a bona fide classic, Booth will have his work cut out for him if he wants to add another FPS game to the gaming canon. Left 4 Dead's AI director innovated in a way the genre had never seen before. Nearly 20 years later, things have moved on. As well as triple-A titans producing blockbusters that even Bad Robot founder J.J. Abrams would be proud of, indie games are eschewing conventions and creating masterpieces in their own rights.

Think of Neon White, Superhot, I Am Your Beast, Children of the Sun. Booth needs to do more than invoke the spirit of Left 4 Dead if he wants his next game, known as Project Tacoma, to succeed.

Even more exciting than this nostalgia-fueled announcement is that you can play Project Tacoma right now. Well, some of you can. Bad Robot has opened up playtests for "a limited number of players." You may as well sign up just in case, right?

Booth acknowledges that the game is still in the early stages of development, but players are excited to see what he and his team are cooking, and so am I.

If you can't wait to play the full game that Bad Robot is creating and have maxed out on enough Left 4 Dead to last a lifetime, we've picked out a list of the best games like Left 4 Dead that will offer something familiar, but new. The best zombie games will also fill that void. Yes, I know they're not really zombies.

What do you want to see from a Left 4 Dead spiritual successor? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers alike are eager to discuss the latest gaming news.