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Surprise! Portal 2 Delayed to Next Year

Valve has announced that Portal 2 has been delayed from its initial holiday 2010 release window into 2011.

The notice came from an email received by 1UP this morning from Valve, writing in the voice of in-game corporation Aperture Science - much like the note we received about Portal 2’s E3 event being canceled.

The note also confirms that the "surprise" promised last time is Portal 2-themed, killing once and for all any speculation about Half-Life 3 coming as a surprise announcement at E3. We hope.

As with the previous note, we’ve reproduced the entirety of the email below. We’re big fans of Valve’s press releases as of late, and wouldn’t want you guys to miss out.

VALVE ANNOUNCES MAKING GAMES IS HARD

June 9, 2010 -- 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.

To ask questions about how close we all came to dying, or to ask futile questions about the previously announced E3 ***PORTAL-2-THEMED-FOR-GOD’S SAKE*** surprise or, less futilely, to schedule an appointment to attend a Portal 2 screening at the Valve booth during E3, please contact Valve’s delegate to the EU’s Valve Time Studies Group, Doug Lombardi.