The developer of upcoming Genshin Impact-like Wuthering Waves says it's rewritten 90% of its story ahead of the RPG's second closed beta.
11.01.2024 - 20:25 / pcgamer.com / James Lambert
Just a week after releasing an impressive «first slice» playable build, work on Portal 64, a fan-made effort to bring Valve's beloved Portal to the 1996 Nintendo console, has been halted. Developer James Lambert said he was asked by Valve to take the project down, because it «depends on Nintendo's proprietary libraries.»
Lambert has been working on the Nintendo 64 version of Portal since at least early 2022, when he posted a video of the first «graphics test on real Nintendo 64 hardware.» He also warned, however, that if he decided to move forward with the project, «I would pretty much have to rebuild the entire game from scratch.»
And then he went ahead and did just that, to impressive effect: This is Portal on the Nintendo 64, which frankly I would not have thought possible before seeing it with my own eyes. Lambert's work earned him acclaim from the Nintendo 64 fanbase, including our own Rich Stanton, who said that Portal 64 is «the most impressive homebrew game [he's] ever seen.»
Unfortunately, releasing a playable build of the project appears to have crossed some sort of line. «So I have been in communication with Valve about the future of the project,» Lambert wrote on his Patreon. «There is some news and it isn't good. Because the project depends on Nintendo's proprietary libraries, they have asked me to take the project down.»
In an email sent to PC Gamer, Lambert confirmed the takedown request was legitimate, although the reasoning wasn't entirely clear. «I think Valve didn't want to be tied up in a project involving Nintendo IP,» he wrote. «I don't blame them.
»If I could somehow have a discussion with Nintendo about the possibility [of continuing Portal 64] I would love that. I don't know what it would take to convince them."
It's possible that Valve's preemptive strike against Portal 64 was prompted at least in part by an encounter with Nintendo in 2023 over the planned release of the Dolphin emulator for the Wii and Gamecube consoles on Steam. Nintendo sent a letter to Valve ahead of that launch that attorney Kellen Voyer of Voyer Law said was a «warning shot» against releasing it.
«Nintendo is sending clear notice to Valve that it considers Dolphin to violate the DMCA and should it be released on Steam, Nintendo will likely take further action,» Voyer said at the time. «Given that Valve controls what is available on its store, it made the decision not to wade into any dispute between the Dolphin developers and Nintendo and, instead, followed Nintendo’s preemptive request and took down the Steam page.»
That doesn't sound entirely unlike Lambert's situation: Portal 64 wasn't headed for Steam but it does make use of Valve's intellectual property, which presumably means there's at least a
The developer of upcoming Genshin Impact-like Wuthering Waves says it's rewritten 90% of its story ahead of the RPG's second closed beta.
Only three days after Palworld launched, which fans have been calling 'Pokemon with guns' since it was announced anyway, someone made a mod that turned the player into Ash Ketchum and Pals into 'mons. But less than a day later, it has already been taken down by Nintendo.
Life is Strange's director says he would've loved to have developed the universe further, but that Square Enix decides where the series goes from here.
Starbreeze’s Payday 3 team has shared an update on what they will be doing with the game.
A massive update for Starfield, cramming in over 100 fixes and other improvements, has been delayed. Originally due to hit Steam’s beta branch today, January 17th, the patch is now expected to arrive later this week - but Bethesda aren’t sure exactly when, just yet.
Bethesda has confirmed a delay to what it’s billing as Starfield’s biggest update yet.
A player has showcased their character creation skills by bringing Jon Snow to life inThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. The iconic Game of Thrones character was quickly recognized by The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim community, who not only applauded the player's creation but also injected some humor into the situation.
Valve may have had a change of heart about fan-made tribute projects “borrowing” its intellectual property. GamesRadar+ reported on the Steam maker’s DMCA takedown notice sent to the creators of Team Fortress: Source 2, a passion project porting TF2 to the more modern Source 2 game engine. In addition, the Steam maker squashed a Portal demake for the Nintendo 64, hinting at a possible shift toward a more protective corporate strategy from the typically lenient Valve.
The developer of the now-cancelled Portal 64 demake has said they were not shocked when Valve asked him to stop work on the project.
The developer of the Nintendo 64 version of Portal has taken the game down at the request of Valve.
The creator of Portal 64 has said disappointed fans should not blame Valve for its recent takedown.
The developer of the recently struck down Portal N64 port has shed some more light on what happened and told fans to not be mad at Valve.