The cheaper, no-frills Black Box bundle of Half Life 2: Episode 2 has been cancelled.

Speaking about the bundle, the director of marketing for Valve (which is developing the game), Doug Lombardi, said^†:



As console owners were never going to get the Black Box anyway, thanks to Half Life 2 and Episode 1 never having been available on console, it's no great loss to them. PC owners, however, are being forced to pay an extra $10 (£5) for a product they may already own. Valve has made a concession of sorts to possible complaints on this front. Lombardi said:



Granted, a fiver isn't going to break the bank, but what about those of us who don't have any mates to give Half-Life 2 and Episode One to?

Episode 2 is expected to ship this Autumn, and Valve has encouragingly said recently that the game's nearly finished.. For more on Episode 2 head over to SPOnG's dedicated game page.

^{†Source: IGN}