Half-Life 2 guns for November 16 release date

Days after last week's Rumor Control brought news that Half-Life 2 had gone gold and was being sent off to Vivendi Universal for approval and manufacturing, the publisher confirmed that the game has gone gold and announced, finally, its release date: November 16.

What's more, VU Games announced that it will ship localized versions of Half-Life 2 simultaneously around the world. English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, traditional and simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Japanese versions of the hotly anticipated first-person shooter will all ship on November 16.

Gamers have been able to purchase (via preorder) Half-Life 2 through developer Valve's Steam downloading service since last week. For those consumers, however, the game will not be playable until November 16.

Those who choose to purchase the game at brick-and-mortar stores will have the option of picking up the Half-Life 2 Collector's Edition, which includes Half-Life 2 in DVD-ROM format, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source, a free limited edition T-shirt, and a Half-Life 2 strategy guide from Prima.

[GameSpot contributor Geoff Keighley was on the scene for the final hours of work on Half-Life 2. His report, the latest in his Final Hours series, will be published on GameSpot before the game ships. Keighley's story will recount in detail the entire six years of development on Half-Life 2. In addition, Gabe Newell goes on the record and addresses the September 30, 2003, date fiasco, as well as the notorious code leak.]