Valve and VU Games announced today that Half-Life 2 is officially available for sale at retailers or for download via Steam. The game is shipping in two different versions, one that has Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source for $54.99 and a Special Edition DVD for $79.99. The Special Edition inclues a DVD-ROM version of Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source ( a remastered version of the original Half-Life), a Men's XL T-shirt, and a Half-Life 2 book from Prima, including character backgrounds, info on the making of the game, and more than 100 pieces of artwork.

Half-Life 2 has had one of the longest and most controversial development cycles in the history of the industry. Announced in the previous millennium, the game only started making public appearances last year. Originally scheduled for a September 2003 release, Valve suffered a code leak. The leak was the cited reason for delaying the game until 2004, although strong evidence has come out ex post facto that indicates that the game was never finished enough for a 2003 release. Since the leak, there has been a great deal of skepticism that a product would ever materialize, but Valve promised it would do everything it its power to have Half-Life 2 in consumer hands by the end of the year. After missing the "Summer" release date, murmurs of doubt began again. However, after a couple of abortive "Gold" announcements, Valve confirmed that it had submitted Half-Life 2 to VU Games for approval. However, a legal battle between VU Games and Valve threatened to push the game's release back to 2005. While Half-Life 2 eventually achieved "Gold" status and release on time, controversy continued up until the last minute, with "early adopters" of the game unable to play because of an online registration system via Steam.

In Half-Life 2, players once again pick up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman. He finds himself on an alien-infested realm being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of driving back this scourge and rescuing the world.