Valve has finally confirmed a release date for the upcoming Portal sequel known as Portal 2. While we knew that it would be arriving in 2011, many might be surprised to learn that it will in fact arrive on February 9th, 2011, which is a bit sooner than expected.

The news of the release date also came with the information that Portal 2 would be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC platforms on the same day. It is expected that a Mac release for Portal 2 is also likely, but so far Valve has not confirmed a release of a Mac version; but sources tell us that it is likely that they will do so after the February 9th release on the other platforms.

The big news about the Portal 2 release by Valve perhaps isn’t in the game itself, but the fact that Portal 2 will be released for the PlayStation 3. Valve has been closely aligned with the Xbox 360 for console releases and the PC where it uses its Steam platform to distribute and market its titles.

The PlayStation 3 release was announced at E3 earlier this year and effectively put an end to the exclusivity that the Xbox 360 enjoyed for Valve titles. While Portal 2 is the first of the current Valve titles to come to the PlayStation 3, sources tell us that if sales are as good as expected, it will not be the last.