Left 4 Dead held back a fortnight News

Left 4 Dead has been delayed for a couple more weeks according to Valve boss Gabe Newell.

"Left 4 Dead is going to be released on the tenth anniversary of Half-Life, our first game, so that'll be on November 20th - the third week in November," Newell told Dutch site Gamekings in Leipzig.

Given that retail titles usually ship in Europe on Fridays, we imagine you'll be able to find it on shop shelves on 21st November.

Newell said that both PC and Xbox 360 versions would show up at retail in the third week of November, while the PC version would also be distributed via Steam from day one.

Retail distributor EA had previously told Eurogamer to expect Left 4 Dead on 7th November, but given that the last couple of delays have set the game back months, a couple of weeks more is something we can tolerate.

Left 4 Dead is a co-operative multiplayer first-person shooter in which you and up to three friends fight through a zombie-infested city.

A special computer-controlled "AI director" pulls the zombie strings in the background, dictating the size and nature of force you face from location to location depending on your skill and previous experiences.

For more on how it's shaping up, check out our Left 4 Dead gamepage, where you'll find so many previews and interviews that you'll probably be able to buy the thing by the time you get to the end.