Portal 2 slips to 2011

In a typically flamboyant press release, Valve has confirmed that Portal 2 will no longer be released later this year and is now targeting a 2011 arrival.

The developer and publisher also confirmed that its much-discussed E3 surprise is about Portal 2 and not, as many had hoped, about a new instalment in the Half-Life series.

It’s worth a read, so here’s the announcement in its entirety:

Aperture Science, doing business as Aperture Laboratories LLC, in partnership with Valve today announced the successful completion of an ethics-review-panel-supervised release date restructuring process. Portal 2, the sequel to the ground-breaking title that earned over 30 Game of the Year awards despite missing its original ship date, is now targeted for a 2011 release.

Representatives from both companies acknowledged that public safety concerns factored into the decision. They went on to say that even though Portal 2 will arrive slightly later than planned, all life on earth won’t instantaneously stop as every molecule in your body explodes at the speed of light, which is what would happen should a rip ever appear in the fabric of Valve Time.

Also, the game will be even better,” they added, missing an historic opportunity to create the first product delay press release to mention that a product is being delayed to make it worse.