Official support for community created campaigns has just been added to Left 4 Dead, thanks to the most recent update to the game. Valve has also updated the Left 4 Dead authoring tools—so get crackin' map makers!

Valve announced the long-awaited PC version update via the official Left 4 Dead blog last week, highlighting the changes that will enable support for add-on campaigns. In effect, it means more widespread access to and proper matchmaking for custom campaigns beyond the original four—No Mercy, Death Toll, Dead Air and Blood Harvest—thanks to the Left 4 Dead SDK.

Soon, we'll all be playing Dead Before Dawn—set in the Crossroads Mall from George Romero's Dawn of the Dead—and a thousand Resident Evil-inspired maps, with the obligatory nude Zoey mod installed. Hopefully a full recreation of 28 Days Later is currently brewing somewhere.

Left 4 Dead Update Released [Steam News - thanks, Justin!]
Get Your Campaign On [Left 4 Dead Blog]

Send an email to Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at mike@kotaku.com.