Portal 2 to release early? Potato sack ARG signs point to "yes"

Valve's delays are nearly as legendary as the games that suffered them, so you'd be forgiven for spit-taking at the idea that the developer might be letting the pendulum swing the other way. A number of emails purportedly sent by Gabe Newell, however, seem to suggest just that.

As explained by the Potato Sack ARG's ever-expanding wiki, coded images were sent to many gaming and tech websites - for instance, Mac Rumors, Joystiq, and Kotaku - and summarily beaten with the ol' Science Bat until warm sense came flowing out of them.

Together, the images became a 3 x 3 message apparently penned by someone within Aperture Science. Among other things, it mentioned the early release of something called "Kick It" and referenced the 13-game Potato Sack lineup.

A final unscrambled message, however, yielded what's perhaps the most telling bit: a short, sweet, to-the-point string that reads "4/19/2011_7AM=4/15/2011_9AM."

Meanwhile, Kotaku reports that Bit.Trip Beat's joined the Portal-themed party as well - and with a highly intriguing message to boot:

"Like the other 12 games in Valve's Potato Sack, it is rumored that playing BIT.TRIP BEAT between now and Portal 2's 'scheduled' release date might increase the chances that Portal 2 is released early. Interesting idea..."

WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE. Granted, who knows if Gaijin Games actually let the cat out of the potato sack? It could just be playing along to drum up even more interest in Valve's spud-flavored shenanigans. Time will definitely tell, though, so mark your calendar for Friday. Or, you know, just remember like a normal person, because that's only two days from now.