This is Why Left 4 Dead 2 is Limited to Four Players [Updated]

Some people wonder why L4D2 cannot handle more than four survivors at any one time. Well, this video should be more than enough to tell you why Valve decided to limit it. This little clip shows the chaos that ensues when 16 people are allowed to join a L4D2 server, before it decides to crash.


As you can see, anything more than 4 player co-op is just pure chaos.

Left 4 Dead 2: 16 Player Campaign Coop [YouTube]
Left 4 Dead 2: Dead Center with 16 Players [YouTube]

Author: Tovan View all posts by
Hot Blooded Gaming Senior Editor. Contact: tovan@hotbloodedgaming.com

32 Comments on "This is Why Left 4 Dead 2 is Limited to Four Players [Updated]"

  1. Jahguleth December 14, 2009 at 16:05 - Reply

    Can anyone tell me how this is done? Me and some friends frequently host small LANs at each others houses and we all love this game but the 4 player limit kind of sucks if we all want to play, and joining an existing 16 or 20 player server would also suck because it would lag like hell and 16 or 20 players with no teamwork would be too chaotic. If anyone could give some tips we would definitely appreciate it.
    Thank you.

  2. Robby November 26, 2009 at 15:19 - Reply

    Hey this is my server, thanks for posting about it! IP is 128.61.84.131:27015 and has been upped to 20 players.

  3. Kenyi November 24, 2009 at 14:56 - Reply

    Yeah, I know of these servers, and I’m glad I enjoy my intense games on expert with 4 people rather than with 16. though I can see the benefits (special infected stand no chance, easier to get helped up by 16 people) I much rather be in teamwork with just four, that’s what makes the game so fun.

  4. punkovision November 23, 2009 at 22:53 - Reply

    i was at school when i looked at this but i would not load…blah this school….ANYWHO! i saw this on youtube (proxy) and just laughed at the it…while my classmates just stared…anywho i just thought it was really funny seeing like 16 players idk how to explain but yeah haha LOVED it!!!

  5. Chris1120101 November 23, 2009 at 22:48 - Reply

    Too bad i got L4D2 for the 360, if i knew there was a mod like this, damn. And 8 vs 8 or 16 vs 16 versus would own

  6. rmakulate November 23, 2009 at 21:40 - Reply

    Tovan you found an excellent mod. This will serve many people that love the Left4Dead series. Its been a while since I seen a cool mod. I gotta try this out for myself. A big thanks Kreyg for the Server IP address or do I thank Tovan for that?

  7. Straight Up Lazy November 23, 2009 at 21:30 - Reply

    LOL my system would be laggin for sure

  8. Spooky November 23, 2009 at 21:30 - Reply

    ive been on one of these type surves with 16 survivors and 20 infected. it was a multilated head full of fun!

  9. Rex November 23, 2009 at 21:29 - Reply

    wow man thats crazy lol

  10. jesus guy November 23, 2009 at 20:21 - Reply

    holy crap, i think it would have been better to have been given the choice of up to 16 players

  11. CaptNau November 23, 2009 at 11:27 - Reply

    GET TO THE SAFE HOUSE!! “I CANT THERES PEOPLE IN THE BLOODY WAY!”\

  12. naim380 November 23, 2009 at 11:24 - Reply

    but we LOVE CHAOS!

  13. vietdzine November 23, 2009 at 06:26 - Reply

    Well, what makes the limit to 4?
    Did they just want an even number?
    I mean… could it have been 5 v 5?
    Or something along that sort.

    • apolix November 23, 2009 at 22:24 - Reply

      but then it would be called left 5 dead..whcih..uk..is..weird

  14. Omnislasher November 23, 2009 at 00:31 - Reply

    Goddamn, that looks ridiculous! Lol.

  15. Rocker2791 November 22, 2009 at 21:53 - Reply

    co-op gamemodes shall not exceed 4 players: unspoken rule.

  16. roxaskid November 22, 2009 at 21:35 - Reply

    i smell a reality TV show brewing…
    THE REAL WORLD, zombie slaughter house!

  17. xReaper29 November 22, 2009 at 21:31 - Reply

    But it would be so epic!

  18. Kreyg November 22, 2009 at 19:48 - Reply

    Imagine doing this on the broadcast. 16 players in GTA is already enough to drive me insane, but this, the pure chaos that would ensue would be beyond anything we have ever seen before.

  19. Fireraven November 22, 2009 at 19:46 - Reply

    I’ve seen the chaos with just 4 people trying to get through a door and close it. Imagine having 16 people trying to do it. And with that many there’s always gonna be a few jicks that shoot other players all the time, wake witches, close the door, or whatever else they could think off to annoy others.

  20. DeadStretch November 22, 2009 at 19:12 - Reply

    I would imagine lots of friendly fire also, lol.

  21. xDSJxPyro November 22, 2009 at 19:02 - Reply

    It also must be nice to be able to use CS:S weapons too. That server looks like it would be fun as hell with at bunch of friends. To bad it can’t handle the awesomeness :(

  22. MrTastyDDR November 22, 2009 at 19:01 - Reply

    this looks so fun, there should be a mod that allows 16v16 or 16v4 :P

  23. MSgtGunny November 22, 2009 at 19:00 - Reply

    omg, let the epicness ensue

  24. DeltronZero000 November 22, 2009 at 18:56 - Reply

    Even thought its mass chaos and it will crash the server, I still think that it actually looks pretty fun. I would want to try this

    • Tovan November 22, 2009 at 19:01 - Reply

      Oh no doubt it would be fun as hell to fool around in. But if you’re trying to play through the game seriously, even 5 people is going to turn into chaos. :P