HL2: Aftermath coming in April

Nearly a year and a half after Half-Life 2 was released, the blockbuster PC shooter will finally get its first expansion pack. Today, Doug Lombardi, Valve Software's director of marketing, confirmed to GameSpot that the developer is now shooting for an April 24 release for Half-Life 2: Aftermath. Previously, the PC expansion pack was set for a November 2005 "launch window," which it obviously missed.

To date, Valve has been largely mum about the details of Aftermath. However, when speaking to GameSpot last June, designer/programmer Robin Walker said that the expansion will focus on major characters who got short shrift in the original Half-Life 2 and include the high dynamic range lighting effects featured in the free Half-Life 2: Lost Coast bonus level.

Half-Life 2: Aftermath will retail for $19.99 and be available via Steam's download service or a boxed version distributed by Electronic Arts. EA will also distribute the boxed versions of a new Half-Life 2: Platinum Edition, which will include Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Deathmatch, Half-Life 2: Aftermath, Counter-Strike: Source, and Day of Defeat: Source in a single package. Pricing for the Platinum Edition was not available as of press time.