GAME releases Portal 2 on PC early

GAME and Gamestation stores have been allowed to break the release date for the PC version of Portal 2 in the UK, after the game saw early release on Valve's Steam service on Monday.

Although both PC and console versions were released on Tuesday in North America - the usual day for new releases in that region - the game is not schedule for released in the UK until Thursday (normally this would be the Friday, if not for the bank holiday).

However, Portal 2 was also released on Tuesday worldwide on download service Steam and can currently be purchased for £29.99. Speaking to sister site Eurogamer, a GAME spokesman confirmed that publisher Electronic Arts had allowed them to take the move as a 'market reaction' to the availability on Steam.

The major supermarket chains have so far not followed GAME's lead, though. Tesco has already confirmed to Eurogamer that the game will not go on sale until tomorrow.

The street date for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game also remains, since they are unaffected by the Steam launch.

Portal 2 has received wide critical acclaim but has already drawn considerable criticism from PC owners, who have attempted to sabotage the game's Metacritic user score as a result.