According to GI, Valve asked Microsoft if releasing Portal in a stand-alone fashion for the Xbox Live Arcade would be viable. Microsoft rejected the idea, it seems. The reasoning was vague, at best, but it seems that the size and bandwidth necessary were a problem. Then again, Doug Lombardi at Valve did give us some hope. He said:

"I think it's a trade-off, we'll see it one day.

Doug Lombardi, Valve employee and sometimes voice, revealed to Eurogamer that there will not be a new Portal game this year, as many had hoped. This is good, though, because a game like Portal can be so easily ruined if it was rushed.

"In typical Valve tradition, it won't be Portal with different colours," he said Lombardi.

Valve says that more Portal is on the way for sure. Speaking to Eurogamer, Doug Lombardi from Valve said it is more a matter of "when" and "what," then a matter of "if." Also, Doug says that Valve will release the finale of Half Life via Episode 3 when they are good and ready. Valve has never bowed to timetable pressure so we will just have to wait for Gordon's final opus (for now anyway, we doubt we will see the last of Gordon in Ep 3).

Eight new screens from Portal, the brand new multiplayer game coming to Steam and the Half Life family, have bene released. As you can see, the game looks just as good as Half Life 2, but with a considerably bigger fun factor. The portals look like they will add a huge amoutn of depth the game as well. Check out our screens at the link.

1up has a full two-page preview of the new multiplayer mode of Half Life, Portal. They give us the report from the Valve offices, and the game certainly sounds interesting, to say the least.

Valve has announced that they plan to show three of their most anticipated new games at the upcoming Leipzig Games Conference. Half Life 2 Episode 2, Portal (the new MP mode of Episode 2), and Team Fortress 2, will all be makign an appearance. The show starts on August 24.