Fan-Made Portal Remake Is 100% Complete, But There's A Hitch

Portal: Alive & Kicking, a fan-made Portal remake that was announced way back in 2011, is finally ready to launch after over a decade. But there's a hitch. According to the team, the game is currently pending Valve's approval to publish, and Valve has gone quiet.

"We use source code Valve gave us. We signed an NDA, but not a non-commercial release form originally," developer Dot Operator explained on the Steam Forums. "We've now signed the non-com form but they haven't responded."

At the end of June, long-time supporters of Portal: Alive & Kicking were concerned that the project had been abandoned. Dot Operator assured that it had not been, and that work was actually finished. "I have not had any updates from Valve since filling out a non-commercial license template a few months ago," they alleged. "I am grateful they initially gave us that option, but now we aren't hearing anything. The game is done, but we do not have the ability to release it on Steam right now."

Dot Operator explained that "The license is required because we have modified Portal 2's source code (which already had its own NDA signed to acquire it," so there is currently no way to release the mod even outside of Steam without approval. The team reached out through the usual support channels, but again heard nothing. "Steamworks support tickets are done through the same system as Steam purchases," Dot Operator said. "If they don't respond there, I don't have anywhere else to send requests as far as I know."

The Community Rallies Behind Portal: Alive & Kicking

Weeks have gone by with no update, as Dot Operator reiterates again and again that the project is done — it just can't be shared with players yet. In a last-ditch effort, Livid-Active-3121 posted about the situation on the game's subreddit in the hopes of raising awareness. "The developers' hands are tied by the NDA, and Valve is just sitting on a finished game," they alleged. "Spamming support doesn't work, but making a public noise might. Let's bring some attention to this project so Valve finally notices those forms from March! We've been waiting for this mod for years."

Valve has been incredibly open to collaborating with modders in the past, even hiring developers and folding their games into its portfolio, as with Counter-Strike, Dota, and Team Fortress, some of its biggest hits. As recently as 2020, Valve approved the fan-made Half-Life remake Black Mesa to launch on the Steam store — even allowing Crowbar Collective to charge for the game. Portal: Alive & Kicking is a similarly ambitious reimagining of the original Portal, but unlike Black Mesa, it's free-to-play, so it's especially strange that Valve has gone radio silent on the team.

We have reached out to Valve for clarification.

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