Valve narrows down release date

Word on the vine of grapes is that Valve has narrowed down Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal's cluster-release to 9th October.

The date comes courtesy of Shacknews, who spoke to Valve about it yesterday. When we popped over last month they were saying October, so it would seem to tally with that.

If the games do emerge on 9th October on Steam and at US retail though, we'd anticipate a wait of a few days before they emerge in UK shops, which traditionally toss out new games on Fridays.

Development has reportedly been "progressing well on all three platforms", although whether that means it'll launch simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as Valve desires is unknown.

And, with EA representatives tied up at the company's showpiece event in Los Angeles this week and Valve seemingly asleep, confirmation's not been immediately forthcoming.

For more on what Valve's up to, be sure to read our first impressions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Team Fortress 2 and Portal.

Valve is also working with Turtle Rock Studios on Left 4 Dead, which is likely to be out this year as well.

More on all this when people get back to us.