When Left 4 Dead 2 was announced at E3 2009, gamers were left reeling in shock.  Well it looks like one surprise may be leading to another, with EA listing Left 4 Dead 2 as a multiplatform release.  Though this possibility sounds far-fetched, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Below is a screenshot captured by Joystiq.com, prominently featuring the previously unexpected PlayStation 3 version of the game.

It is a well known fact that the developers at Valve are not fans of developing for the PlayStation 3 achitecture.  Gabe Newell, the managing director of Valve and god of all things Zombie, has made it very evident that the platform is not developer friendly, further stating that he plans to never plans to make a game for Sony’s flagship console.

Part of the issue lies in the fact that Valve develops using their Source Engine.  Originally developed as a PC game engine, the Source Engine seamlessly made the transition to the very PC friendly, Xbox 360 platform.  As modular as the engine is, they have not been able to bridge the gap between the PC and PlayStation 3′s cell processor.

With all of this out in the open, there are three possible explanations for this posting on EA.com:

1. Gabe Newell has been messing with us for months, and they have been developing the game in secret.
2. EA plans to port Left 4 Dead 2 to the PlayStation 3 after the PC and Xbox 360 versions have been released.
3. This is a PR snafu on the part of EA and nothing more than a clerical mistake.

Time will tell what really comes out of this scenario, but I would love to see the game come to as many platforms as possible.  Well, that is as long as the PlayStation 3 port of L4D2 isn’t nearly as horrible as EA’s abysmal port of the Orange Box.  What do you think is going on here?