Valve, utvikleren bak noen av PC-ens mest betydningsfulle spill og Electronic Arts verdens største utgiver av spill, har nettopp annonsert at de har inngått et partnerskap om at sistnevnte skal stå for salget og distribusjonen av Half-Life 2: Game of the Year og Counter-Strike: Source. Dessuten vil EA også være utgiveren av det kommende Half-Life 2 til Xbox.
Ifølge avtalen beholder Valve dog alle rettighetene til deres PC-produkter og dermed muligheten for på et senere tidspunkt selv å utgi deres spill.
Her er et lite utdrag fra pressemeldingen;
At EA Partners, our mandate is to seek out the world’s top studios and game franchises, build partnerships, empower the development teams and help get these great games to more people in more countries than ever before. We consider Half-Life and Counter-Strike to be two of the best game franchises of all time," said Tom Frisina, Vice President and General Manager, EA Partners. "We could not be more excited to have the opportunity to help deliver these outstanding games to players around the globe."
"EA is the worldwide leader in bringing best of breed games, for all platforms, to market," said Gabe Newell, Valve’s founder and president. "Valve games have sold over 18 million units at retail since Half-Life shipped in November 1998. By combining EA’s unparalleled operation structure and distribution channel with Valve’s award-winning development teams and games community, we’ve established an awesome combination for delivering great products to console and PC gamers around the world."