Halo fan game receives legal blessing from 343 Industries
Installation 01, a Halo for PC fan project, has nothing to fear legally from 343 Industries.
When reporting on fan games, most news stories tend to be about cease-and-desist letters. Thankfully, today is one of the exceptions. Installation 01 - a fan project designed to recreate Halo's multiplayer for PC - has received a semi-official blessing from 343 Industries and a promise that no legal action is currently being sought out.
"Installation 01 has been maintaining a level of contact with 343 Industries over the past several months," Installation 01's project manager wrote in a statement. "343 Industries gave us an opportunity to participate in a call with a few company higher-ups to engage in a meet-and-greet and involved discussion about the future of our project ... We are happy to announce that the outcome of the call was both incredibly informational and very positive! Through these interactions we have been ensured that Installation 01 is not under imminent legal threat, provided we remain non-commercial in nature and scope, and continue to follow Microsoft’s Game Content Usage Rules to the letter."
While this shouldn't be confused with actual support from 343 - although by all accounts, it likes the project so far - it does mean Installation 01 can complete production without fear of a cease-and-desist. That being said, it also means Installation 01's developers cannot accept any donations or payment relating to the game. This means Installation 01 could still take some time to produce, although it's certainly a weight off of everyone's shoulders.
Once completed, Installation 01 is intended to be a full recreation of Halo 1, 2, and 3's multiplayer within the Unity Engine. To stay within Microsoft's Game Content Usage Rules, all Unity content must either be built from scratch or modified using purchased assets. In other words, everything you see in the cinematic trailer above was crafted by the Installation 01 team without ripping any Halo assets - an impressive feat.
Installation 01 is expected to launch for PC "when it's done".