So, you've downloaded your favorite Survivor mod from the Steam Workshop, but want to add some immersion by using a custom name for that Survivor. Fear not, as this guide will walk you through how to add custom Survivor names for the Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 Survivors. Let's get started!

(Note: I'm not sure if you can change the Survivor names for other languages other than English. I made this Guide using the U.S. Version of L4D2, meaning that English is the default language. If any of you are able to change the Survivor names for the non-English versions of the game, let me know so I can update this Guide. I appreciate your help.)

Right, to begin, you want to find the file that contains the game's UI text. Here's how to find it:

Go to Left 4 Dead 2 within your Steam Library and click on the gear icon. When you do this, you'll see a dropdown menu. Click on Manage, then Browse Local Files.


When you do so, you should be taken to the Left 4 Dead 2 folder within your Files. Click the update Folder:


Next, you should see something like this. Now, click on the resource Folder:


To wrap up this section of the Guide, you should see this after selecting the resource Folder:


That concludes Step 1 of the Guide. See you in the next section!

Welcome to Step 2 of this L4D2 Guide! Previously, we left off at this list of files:


Scroll down until you see these files:


What are these files, you ask? To put it simply, these files are the ones that control the text you see on the Main Menu, UI, etc. For this Guide, I'll be using the English file, so I select the file titled l4d360ui_tu_english:


When I select the file, I'm given this Notepad file with lines of scripts in it:

(Note: If this file doesn't open up, you may be prompted to select a program to open the file. If this happens, choose Notepad.)

Now, scroll to the bottom of the file and you should see a pair of curly brackets ( } ) where the red arrow is pointing:

Hit "Enter" twice to create an empty space like this:

This little area is where we'll be pasting the script needed to edit the Survivors' names. You may be wondering, "What script?" Well, here is is:

// Survivor Names
"L4D360UI_NamVet" "Bill"
"L4D360UI_Biker" "Francis"
"L4D360UI_Manager" "Louis"
"L4D360UI_TeenGirl" "Zoey"

"L4D360UI_Coach" "Coach"
"L4D360UI_Mechanic" "Ellis"
"L4D360UI_Gambler" "Nick"
"L4D360UI_Producer" "Rochelle"

// Loading Screen Posters
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Bill" "as Bill"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Francis" "as Francis"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Louis" "as Louis"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Zoey" "as Zoey"

"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Coach" "as Coach"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Ellis" "as Ellis"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Nick" "as Nick"
"L4D360UI_Loading_As_Rochelle" "as Rochelle"

Copy and paste this script into that empty spot. It should look like this:

(Note: If you reinstall your L4D2 game files or verify the integrity of the files to fix them, this script will be deleted, so be sure to reapply it before starting up your game again.)

Now, here's the fun part. See the Survivors' names in quotes? This is what you want to edit in order to change the on-screen names! For this example, I'll be changing the Survivors' names to those of Azur Lane characters. Here's a visual:

Now, you can save your changes. This also marks the end of Step 2 of this wonderful Guide. Head on over to Step 3 to learn how to edit the names in the subtitles. Or, skip to Step 4 to see the final result! Either way, see you in either section!

If you really want even more immersion in your L2D2 experience, you can edit the character names in the subtitles! Since this requires additional steps, I'll provide a link to a very helpful Guide by M.G. on how to do it. Special thanks to him for figuring it out!

Link to the subtitles Guide by M.G.
M.G.'s Subtitles Guide

Here's some images that show the custom subtitles in action!

Welcome to Step 4 of my guide! If you followed all of the previous steps correctly, you should have working custom Survivor names for the L4D and L4D2 Survivors! Here are some screenshots that showcase the custom names in action!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before (Survivor Selection):

L4D Survivors


L4D2 Survivors

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After (Survivor Selection):

L4D Survivors


L4D2 Survivors

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before (In-game):

L4D Survivors


L4D2 Survivors

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After (In-game):

L4D Survivors


L4D2 Survivors

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yup, they work in Campaigns too! The custom names will appear wherever you would normally see survivor names such as the killfeed, credits, etc:

Thank you for taking the time to read through my very first Guide on Steam. I've tested this script edit and it works online, even on Official Dedicated servers, meaning that you shouldn’t be auto-kicked from the server. I hope that you found all of the information helpful and clear. If not, comment down below and I'll try to get back to you ASAP. Also, shoutout to M.G. for the subtitles Guide! With that being said, I hope that you enjoy your custom Survivor names. Cheers!