Back 4 Blood shows off extended gameplay and an in-depth look at the director system during the Future Games Showcase

A new Back 4 Blood trailer has just premiered during the Future Games Show Spring Showcase.

This extended look at Back 4 Blood, the new co-op zombie shooter from the creators of Left 4 Dead, includes a deep dive into how its new director system will keep you on your toes every time you play. 

You may remember that the Left 4 Dead games had a director system as well, which would dynamically alter when and where enemies would appear to keep the same set of stages feeling fresh. It serves a similar role in Back 4 Blood, but on top of that, it will also apply bigger modifiers to each map. The game will reveal these modifiers at the start of a map, which means you'll have the chance to pick your strategy and loadout to counter the director's machinations, as Turtle Rock Studios executive producer Lianne Papp explains.

"You're gonna start in a safe room with three of your friends, and the game director is gonna play what we call Corruption Cards," Papp says. "You get to know what kind of challenges he's gonna throw at you and your team by looking at what these cards are. They might be things like Swarm of Bruisers, or Ridden on Fire. And you then get to know exactly what it is that you're gonna face.

"So after you see those cards, you're then gonna be given a hand from a deck that you've built. And you need to decide what cards you're gonna play. Coordination with your team is gonna be super key here as you can do things like improving the quality of items and weapons that are found in the world, you can make it so your team can carry more molotovs or medkits, or you can even do something cool like, your team gets a burst of health when you get incapacitated. We're really excited to see what you and your friends do with your cards."

Back 4 Blood is headed to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S. Both PC and console players will have a chance to try it out in the upcoming open beta - Papp says more info is coming on that soon.

Find something to play with your buddies while you wait in our big guide to the best co-op games.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.