Mutations

"Each week one new Mutation is featured and the previous Mutation retired."

- Valve

Mutations is the name for a new set of gameplay modes that was released alongside the new campaign, The Passing in Left 4 Dead 2. The Mutations are special game modes that run for one week before it is retired, and replaced by a new Mutation each week as they become announced on the in-game Blog Post every Friday. Periodically, a poll will be conducted for players to vote for their favorite Mutation, which will return the following week as an Encore Mutation, meaning it will re-appear the next week (See below for Encore Mutations). It is only available to those who have downloaded The Passing.

Revealed Mutations
There are over 20 different Mutations planned, and playable on all Left 4 Dead 2 Campaigns.

So far, the following have been revealed on Valve's blog in the scheduled order along with their taglines:

Console Commands
To play any Mutation without it being up for that week on the PC version of Left 4 Dead 2, activate the console and type in:


 * map map filename mutation#

The map filename is any of the maps in the game, or a custom map.

Replace # with a number:

So, for example, to play Dead Center with the Ironman Mutation, type into the console:


 * map c1m1_hotel mutation8

One can also create a lobby for a mutation of choice and connect to any server, though only with friends. 

Unrevealed Mutations
WARNING: Spoilers.

The following were found in a Steam-Group annoucement and have not been seen in a schedule as of yet. They can also be found amongst the game's script files. As they have not been announced by Valve yet, they may still be subject to changes or removal.

Encores and Developer's Choice
After every four or five weeks, Valve may announce an encore week in which the community vote for a Mutation to be replayed. Only recent Mutations that have been played may be voted for. Alternatively, the developers may choose to replay one of their chosen Mutations for a week as a "Developer's Choice". The following encore weeks re-showcased the following Mutations:


 * Friday, May 21st (week 5) had Last Gnome on Earth return for another week.
 * Friday, June 25th (week 10) had Chainsaw Massacre reappear. On the Xbox 360, it led with 43% of the votes. However it was much more close on the PC. Chainsaw Massacre won by 1%, specifically 500 more votes, than the second most voted PC Mutation: Headshot!.
 * Friday, July 30th (week 15) had a split vote. For the PC, Versus Survival won by 6% more than Four Swordsmen. However, on the Xbox 360, Four Swordsmen won by 10% more than Versus Survival.
 * Friday, August 20th (week 18) had developers choosing Last Man On Earth to be replayed for one week on both PC and Xbox 360.
 * Friday, August 27th (week 19) had a split vote. For the PC, Gib Fest won by 5% more than Versus Survival. However, on the Xbox 360, Chainsaw Massacre won by 5% more than Gib Fest.
 * Friday, September 3rd (week 20) had developers choosing Hard Eight to be replayed for one week on both PC and Xbox 360.
 * Friday, September 10th (week 21) had developers choosing Follow The Liter to be replayed for one week on both PC and Xbox 360.
 * Friday, September 17th (week 22) had developers choosing Healthpackalypse! to be replayed for one week on both PC and Xbox 360.
 * Friday, September 24th (week 23) had developers choosing Versus Survival to be replayed for two weeks on both PC and Xbox 360, as the team will be busy 'working on their infrastructure'.
 * Saturday, October 2nd 2010 (Saturday Sacrifice Update) announced the coming of five new mutations, the first one being Taaannnk!!
 * Tuesday, October 5th (week 25) will mark the release of The Sacrifice DLC, as well as the release of Taaannnk!!.

Achievements & Awards

 * See Main Article: Achievements