Valve/Activision to release Day of Defeat

The revered and enigmatic Valve has signed a worldwide multi-title deal with US giant Activision, kicking off with the Half-Life powered WWII multiplayer only shooter Day of Defeat.

Due for release next month on PC, the game is set in 1944 and features multiple modes of play, 15 multiplayer maps, and various enhancements including a British squad. Nice to see they let us join in our own war.

"Valve has a proven track record of creating ground-breaking games with worldwide appeal," said Larry Goldberg, executive vice president of Activision Worldwide Studios. "We share with Valve the common goal of delivering the best games possible and with the upcoming launch of Day of Defeat we look forward to kicking-off a strong and successful partnership."

Despite the obvious kudos of signing such a world famous name, Activision will be aware that Valve's proven track record also includes the baggage of interminable delays to key projects; notably Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2 - now in its fifth year of development.

Naturally, Valve's co-founder and MD Gabe Newell was delighted with the deal, which includes an unspecified number of other forthcoming PC titles: "Activision has been a pioneering games publisher since the days of the Atari 2600, and the company has never been more influential than it is today.

"It's an honour to enter this new partnership and have the opportunity to take Day of Defeat, an ambitious product born of the MOD community, to gamers around the world in a great retail offering," he added.

Although the game cannot hope to wow gamers with its graphics, being based on six-year-old technology, Valve's reputation should guarantee a respectable level of interest at retail.

Quite how this affects Valve's long-standing relationship with Sierra and Vivendi is unknown, but the forthcoming E3 should provide some answers to this thorny issue.