Half-Life 2 moves to Autumn?

The Half-Life 2 release date saga continued to rumble on this weekend, with an Autumn release date now mooted as the title's likely launch window despite development on the hugely-anticpated game reportedly being completed in a matter of a few weeks .

Reports emanating from Half Life Radio in the US state that Valve will deliver the game to publisher Vivendi in the next few weeks, in line with the Seattle-based developer's recent promises that work on the project would be finished this summer. In fact, Valve's marketing director Doug Lombardi restated last week that the game was still "on target" for the summer.

However, the report also states that the game won't be launched by Vivendi until "Fall", which to us suggests a late September release - usually in order to meet that quarter's financials.

If the report is true - and until Vivendi or Valve officially announces it we can't be sure - then this represents yet another blow to the long-suffering fans who have faced delay after delay.

However, there is also the possibility that Valve will choose to take advantage of the build up to the release by launching a teaser demo via Steam. It has stated, though, that it would launch the game simultaneously, so any chance of online users getting the game first appear to be nil.

More news as we get it.