Downloadable Content

Downloadable Content is content which was not released with its game initially. Said content was/is released by Valve. Thus far, there have been two downloadable content packs, one of which (The Survival Pack) was free for both PC and Xbox 360 users. The other, Crash Course, is free on PC, but costs 560 Microsoft Points to buy and download on Xbox 360.

Survival Pack
Released on April 21st 2009, the Survival Pack was confirmed by Valve on February 5th, 2009. The Survival Pack is completely free and is available through Steam and Xbox LIVE.

First off, you can now play the two campaigns Death Toll and Dead Air online in Versus mode. These maps have been tweaked slightly to remove some closets and to balance gameplay. For example, downstairs in the Boathouse Finale has been significantly emptied to prevent corner camping, and more walls break open.

The anticipated Survival Mode is released which pits The Survivors against endless waves of the horde, as well as multiple Special Infected. Players can hold out in 16 maps, 15 of which are extracts from Crescendo Events and finales from the four original campaigns. These maps have also been tweaked to remove exploits and to make the whole experience much harder. The last map is in the new campaign: The Last Stand, and currently has one map: The Lighthouse.

Seven new achievements have been released for the PC version of the game. There are no new achievements for the Xbox 360 version.

Crash Course
A few months after the announcement of Left 4 Dead 2, Valve announced a new DLC pack titled Crash Course for Left 4 Dead which includes a new campaign and more features. The campaign is touted as bridging the gap between No Mercy and Death Toll, the DLC includes a new campaign consisting of two maps and about 30 minutes of gameplay as well as versus maps and a more streamlined Versus experience. The poster for Crash Course has the wreckage of News Chopper 5 in the background.

The pack also makes it possible to view teammates’ statuses and their recharge timers which was suggested a long time ago in Steam's forums and highly requested by the community. Chet from Valve noted that the game would become more balanced without having the game to change teams. Crash Course was released on September 29th, 2009.

Third DLC
There is not much known about this DLC yet. Valve announced it to be released about one month after The Passing and its story should try to tell, why the original Survivors came to the south, and possibly how Bill died.

The Passing
On December 14th, 2009, Valve announced the first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2. Entitled "The Passing", players will control the new Survivors as they meet up with three of the original Survivors from Left 4 Dead in a campaign that takes place between Dead Center and Dark Carnival. A new firearm and a new melee weapon will appear, along with a new "Uncommon Infected", new Survival, Versus, and Scavenge maps will also be available. It is expected for release at the end of March 2010. No price has been announced but is expected to be free on the PC and will most likely cost Xbox 360 owners about 560 points. .

Speculation
There were two rumored DLC packs for Left 4 Dead 2. "The Miracle Pack", and "The Apocalyptic Pack". Though technically they were DLCs, they were nothing but test scenarios for Microsoft. They won't be available in the game, judging by them being DLCs, meaning that they do not come with the game itself.

In a technical sense, the pre-order Baseball Bat is the first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2, although it is only a single item.