In an act of generosity, Half Life creators Valve have permitted for the fan made remake of their original title to have a commercial release. The development team announced this on the Steam Community page on the 15th birthday of the original game, with a statement citing the exact reasons for the price tag which will be attached to the title: “Our decision to sell Black Mesa rests on two key points. One is we believe we can make the game even better by having full access to the Source engine. This lets us tackle and fix limitations instead of working around them. The second is because frankly, our team could really use the financial help.”

Despite this the developers were quick to point out that a free copy will still be available, with a newly updated copy being released alongside the paid version, plus that the actual price of the title will be relatively low. Unfortunately no exact numbers were given to support this claim, and it was stated that the paid version would feature elements which would not be present in the free download version of the title. It was further reminded to those interested in the title that the team had been grouped together out of a love for the original, not an effort to earn a profit from the release.

Interestingly one new addition which will be added to the title after a multitude of fan requests is a section often regarded as Half Life’s weakest part: Xen. Famous for a number of tedious puzzles and sections, the alien look of the world is apparently more than enough to earn protests to have it included. Most likely to see the environment in current gen graphics. The current areas of Xen will be updated and expanded by the developers even as new ones are added.

Even prior to this announcement, Black Mesa has seen considerable support from Valve with acts ranging from being hosted on the Steam Community page to being Greenlit for release on Steam itself. Being permitted to make a profit on the title is just the latest sign of desiring the title to succeed.

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