It’s been over a week now since Valve and Zen Studios teased a collaboration via a cryptically rendered image of a pinball machine deflating between two flippers. Fans speculated about which Valve game would be next to get Zen’s trademark-licensed digital pin treatment. Since this is Valve, there were also plenty of jokes about the imminent confirmation of Half-Life 3 (There are three objects in that image. CONFIRMED!)
Today, Zen ended the speculation by announcing Portal pinball machinea new downloadable table coming to “Zen’s Pinball Platforms” (which we assume means both Pinball FX And Zen pinball machine) on May 25. The table was “manufactured in collaboration with Valve” and will reportedly feature familiar design elements such as aerial cred plates, turrets, GLaDOS and, of course, portals to warp the ball around the table. Chell, Wheatley, ATlas and P-Body also make an appearance, and the teaser video above shows them navigating the playfield as new paths are opened by completing certain shots.
Valve’s characters aren’t often licensed for official use in games from other companies, but it’s not unheard of. Left 4 dead‘s famous foursome have turned up to shoot bad guys in both Payday: The Heist And Resident evil 6. Tell stories Poker night in the inventory functions Team Fortress 2‘s Heavy as one of his card players and treats us to some hilarious quotes. Valve even teamed up with Bethesda to convert Portal 2 Space Core in the world of Skyrimas a way to introduce the idea of Steam Workshop modding.
outdoor games, Portal‘s GLaDOS even made an approved cameo Pacific edge. Come to think of it, we’re still waiting for that JJ Abrams/Valve movie collaboration that was announced over two years ago. Come on, Abrams, it’s not like you’re doing anything else right now.