Half-Life 2: Episode Two coming this winter

EA and Valve have announced the winter 2007 release of Half-Life 2: Black and Orange Boxes.

So much for episodic content delivering small chunks of entertainment in regular intervals direct to your PC. Half-Life 2: Episode Two was originally intended for release at Christmas 2006 but a series of delays then pushed the game into summer 07. The game now looks set to finally make it onto PC and next-gen consoles this winter.

EA and Valve have announced the autumn release of The Black Box for PC and The Orange Box for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Each version will include Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Valve's new puzzle game which goes by the name Portal and the team-based tactical shooter Team Fortress 2.

In the Orange Box you'll also get Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One so you can discover the entire Half-Life 2 series in one purchase.

"The Black Box and The Orange Box represent a new approach to publishing multiple products, on multiple platforms and we know through our experience that no organization in the industry is better equipped to successfully launch new product types on multiple platforms than EA Partners," said Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve.

The Black Box and The Orange Box are scheduled to ship worldwide in winter 2007.