December 1^st, 2004 (4:23pm) - Valve has released the highly anticipated Half Life 2: Deathmatch, causing Steam users everywhere to rejoice.

Since the game’s release, and perhaps even before that, several hundred-thousand Half Life fans were disappointed at the lack of a true HL2 multiplayer. Valve reacted immediately after the launch of the game indicating that the lack of a multiplayer mode was out of interest of avoiding any more delays.

The initial release of HL2: Deathmatch includes only two maps. While this is not much, it should pacify the majority of angry fans.

Valve has also announced a competition granting over five thousand dollars in prize money to winners of a mapmaking competition.

In related news, the developers of Counter-Strike: Source have announced an update to be released later this month. The update for CS:S will include more maps, as well as updated player models.