Valve's Doug Lombardi has told the gaming press that the highly anticipated release of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 has now been pushed back to "Summer 2007" which equals to a release some time this Winter for those of us in the Southern hemisphere.

While no reason for the delay has been voiced, it is likely due to the ambitious scale of the project, which also includes Portal and Team Fortress 2.

Alongside this news, Valve and EA officially announced the two retail packages that will be available for Half-Life: Episode 2. The Black Box package will include Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2, while the Orange Box will carry the contents of the Black Box as well as Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1.

Keep your eye on the Steam website for any new developments.