Portal 2 street release date broken, launching sooner than expected on Steam
- — 19 April, 2011 11:01
According to the GLaDOS@Home Web site, Portal 2 will be launched on the Steam digital delivery service in under six hours — two days ahead of the game's projected Australian retail release date of April 21. However, retail stores GAME Australia and EB Games are already selling the title to customers.
Starting on 1 April, the GLaDOS@Home project encouraged gamers to play a series of independent games bundled together in a purchase called the Potato Sack, with challenges completed in these games speeding up the release time for Portal 2 on Steam. All the challenges in nine of the thirteen games have been completed and the GLaDOS@Home Web site reports a projected launch of Portal 2 in just under five hours — at 4PM AEST today.
However, Australian retail game stores GAME and EB Games are already selling the title — ahead of the expected physical release date of April 21. While the GAME Web site still says the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 retail versions are still only available for pre-order, EB Game's Web site says the title is in stock. Bricks-and-mortar retail stores for both EB Games and GAME confirmed the game was in stock and could be purchased today.
While the game is not currently on sale in JB Hi-Fi — the JB Hi-Fi Web site shows conflicting information — a JB Hi-Fi store employee told GoodGearGuide his store had received a memo saying that the game would be available for purchase once it was delivered and on store shelves. Two JB Hi-Fi stores contacted in Sydney are expecting the game to be delivered within two hours, while a third is not expecting the game to be in stores until tomorrow.
UPDATE: As of approximately 2:30PM AEST, Portal 2 has been released on Steam:
The main menu of Portal 2.
