New DLC coming soon

Turning around sequels isn't exactly what Valve is known for, as evidenced by the gaps between the "episodic" installments in its company-defining Half-Life franchise. However, the Washington-based independent developer muddied that reputation at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, saying that a sequel to its survival horror zombie shooter Left 4 Dead would be available November 17, nearly a year to the day after the first installment shipped to a strong critical response.

Valve's first zombie shooter hasn't been Left 4 Dead yet.

With Left 4 Dead 2 just around the corner, Valve still has plans to support the original game with new downloadable content. Today, the company said that a new DLC pack titled Crash Course is expected to be available for the Xbox 360 and PC in September.

Sure to provoke the ire of Xbox Live gamers, the console edition of the pack will sell for $7 (MSP 560), while PC gamers will be able to download the pack for free. Valve released its first Left 4 Dead add-on, the Survival Pack, in April, giving it away to gamers on both platforms. The company had not responded to a request for comment on Crash Course's pricing as of press time.

Crash Course is set between the No Mercy and Death Toll maps found in the original game and accommodates single-player, cooperative, and competitive action. Valve notes that the heart of the DLC is the Crash map in Versus mode, which is expected to take 30 minutes to complete.