'Half-Life 2: Episode 2' Delayed, Three Versions Coming

Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has once again been delayed. Official confirmation has come from the developer, Valve, and publishing partner, Electronic Arts, and stated that the anticipated new chapter has been pushed to Fall 2007. The title was previously set for a Holiday 2006 release, which was obviously missed but will now come in three different SKU configurations.

The PC will now have only two different editions instead of the original three. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box will come with the promised Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portals as well as the original Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1. Half-Life 2: The Orange Box will also be release for PS3 and Xbox 360 (being a seperate SKU), but will be the only offering for the consoles.

Half-Life 2: The Black Box will almost certainly be the cheaper offering, only packed with the originally announced combination of Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portals. The proposed third version, dubbed Half-Life 2: Platinum which was to bundle Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, Episode One, Counter-Strike: Source, and Day of Defeat: Source has been officially shelved, even though it was supposed to ship this month.