Return 4 Blood Beta fans say zombies are screaming the N-Word

Last night while playing Back 4 Blood beta on PS5, I was attacked by a large group of zombies. It’s not surprising ; it happens all the time in the game. has been Shocking was to hear a sound sample of one of the zombies that sounded like it was screaming a racial insult. From the viral videos circulating right now, I’m not the only one hearing this similarity. Other beta players say they hear the same thing: zombies screaming the n-word.

Back 4 Blood is the last game original Left for dead developers Turtle Rock Studios. He plays a bit like Left for dead, which is not bad at all! The older ones L4D The games were some of the best cooperative games ever. But the living dead in B4B are louder than the infected in L4D, often shouting and screaming more noticeably. Most of these screams are just random noises and growls. But a scream that I and other players have heard stands out in a way that is 100% probably unintentional but also 100% unfortunate.

Twitter user @HomBKE encountered a zombie in beta who seemed to scream the n-word as he ran towards the player. His response was simple but understandable, asking “What did you call me?” while shooting the zombie attacker.

You can also hear the cry in question in a clip shared by YouTuber and streamer DotoDoya.

In my own time with the game, I heard this scream at least twice and both times I didn’t know what to think. I feel safe assuming that the folks who made this game didn’t intentionally record or include a sound clip of a zombie screaming an insult. Probably it’s just a random throaty sound coming out the wrong way. But the clip is so similar to the word that, so soon, before the game’s release, it might not be a bad idea to change it or remove it from the game altogether.

Kotaku contacted WB Games and Turtle Rock Studios about the scream.

The beta for Back 4 Blood is so far very fun, although it does not quite meet the high expectations of many Left for dead fans (myself included) might have. Yet Valve never makes Game 3 of the L4D series, so that’s the next best thing.

Let’s just get rid of that n-word sounding like scream, please.