[StavrosK]

It's not a matter of when it was released, but that it's an indication that Valve is porting its Source engine to Linux. It looks like Future Valve games are going to be released on all three platforms simultaneously, which is a pretty big win for Linux.

[chc]

That was my impression when Valve started porting Steam, but then Dota 2 came along and proved us wrong.

[AimHere]

Dota2 hasn't even been released yet. People are still playing a test version. It's still possible (though unlikely) for a simultaneous Windows/Mac/Linux release!

[chc]

Meh, that's a weird nomenclature game. It's beta like Google Maps was for the first six years of its life. Valve is selling and running international tournaments on this "open beta." Like, it may say "beta," but it is definitely released. You can go on Steam and buy it right now. They even have a separate test client in addition to the nominally "beta" normal client.