Get the hankies ready folks - Half-Life 2: Episode Two has been delayed. Again.

We were expecting it in summer - a delay from a previously announced early 2007 date - but it's now due this winter.

We're gutted here at CVG. No doubt you are too.

News of the new release date was sneaked in at the bottom of a press release announcing details on the Orange Box and Black Box versions of Half-Life 2: Episode Two that'll be released to retail.

HL2 Black Box is for PC and includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2, while the Orange Box is for PC, PS3 and Xbox includes all the content of The Black Box along with the original Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One.

We guess it's possible that Valve will release Episode Two for PC through Steam before it hits retail, but don't count your chickens.

With the developer aiming for a simultaneous release on all platforms with its Half-Life 2 projects, we can only imagine that the console versions have pushed things back.

We've fired off an email to Valve to get the score.

via cvg