Despite the joys of internet and distribution made possible via the delivery system, Valve's massively longed-for 2 is unlikely to be with us before the 'Autumn' now, with a variety of reports now suggesting that the developer will be handing the final version of the game to publisher Vivendi in the next few weeks, but that Vivendi are now planning a 'Fall' debut. Owing to deals between developer and publisher, can't launch the game early either, which basically equates to an even longer wait for desperate fans.

September is the month being mentioned most, as somewhere between summer and winter, allowing Vivendi's financials to work, and fans to get the game as soon as humanly possibly. Naturally, we'll let you know if we do here word of the game reaching Vivendi - if only so we can send the pleadings for release their way en masse.

By Luke Guttridge