Pre-E3: Valve Delays Portal 2, Says 'Making Games Is Hard'

Some companies know how to delay a game. Half-Life and Steam house Valve Software issued a press release on Wednesday announcing the delay of the anticipated Portal 2 from late this year to some time in 2011. The reasoning? "Making games is hard." The jocular press statement, issued by Valve in conjunction with the Portal universe's fictional Aperture Science company, said that "public safety concerns factored into the decision" to delay Portal 2. "…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," the statement read. Valve is a studio that has become known for releasing games "when they're done," and not before, leading to extended development times for many of its top titles, including Team Fortress 2 and the Half-Life 2 episodes. The statement added, "Also, the game will be even better," at which point the companies realized that they missed "an historic opportunity to create the first product delay press release to mention that a product is being delayed to make it worse." Portal 2 is the follow-up to the mind-bending Portal from 2007, a game whose portal concept began within a student-developed game and Independent Games Festival Student Showcase winner called Narbacular Drop. Valve hired several of those team members to work on Portal. The original Portal went on to become one of the most acclaimed games of the year, "despite missing its original ship date," Valve noted. The delay of Portal 2 explains why Valve earlier this month canceled its Portal 2 event at E3, originally scheduled for next week. The developer also indirectly shot down rumors that Valve's E3 surprise next week would be related to Half-Life or a new Source engine, calling the surprise, "PORTAL-2-THEMED-FOR-GOD'S SAKE" [Emphasis Valve's].