Portal 2 release date delayed due to 'public safety concerns'

"Portal 2" has been delayed. Why? "Making games is hard."

That's the tongue-in-cheek announcement from Valve Software, the video game's developer. The company reports Wednesday that Portal 2 will not be done in time to make its scheduled "holiday season 2010" release date. Expect the hotly anticipated sequel to arrive in 2011.

Valve's press release – a joint statement with Aperture Science, the fictional company from "Portal" – explains that "public safety concerns factored into the decision" to postpone the game.

"Even though Portal 2 will arrive slightly later than planned, all life on earth won't instantaneously stop as every molecule in your body explodes at the speed of light, which is what would happen should a rip ever appear in the fabric of Valve Time," says the statement.

Unfamiliar with "Portal"? It's a shooter without bullets. The player's gun emits dimension-bending doorways that allow the main character to instantly travel from one area to another. Trapped in a labyrinthine laboratory, the protagonist must puzzle her way through the game's many traps. Simple yet canny – and with a healthy dash of humor – the first game surprised many gamers.

Excited by the promise of more Portal, many fans hoped for a taste of the new title at E3, the year's biggest video-game convention, which kicks off next week. However, Valve canceled its Portal 2 event earlier this month.

The good new: "the game will be even better" thanks to the extension, promises Valve. Then again, the company admits that it missed "an historic opportunity to create the first product delay press release to mention that a product is being delayed to make it worse."