Recently, interest began to increase regarding the progress of a Portal fan remake called Portal 64. Unfortunately, Valve stepped in to shut it down. Since then, the creator has responded, explaining what happened and why we should not be mad at the game’s original developer.
Avoiding litigation
In a recent YouTube video, James Lambert addressed the takedown of his Portal 64 project. He says he was contacted by someone at Valve, and when it transpired that this unofficial remake was using Nintendo assets, the company’s legal team asked for development to cease.
Lambert is calm and understanding in the video, saying that he doesn’t blame Valve for asking him to remove the project. The game – which would have seen the first Portal installment be recreated for the N64 – was using assets from Nintendo’s library, Libultra.
It seemed clear to Lambert that Valve simply did not want to be engaged in a legal dispute with Nintendo. As such, putting a “stamp of approval” on something that’s made use of Libultra would likely end in litigation, something the Half-Life and Left 4 Dead studio would want to avoid.
However, he makes it clear that he doesn’t blame Valve for wanting Portal 64 to be removed, adding, “I don’t think you should [be mad], either.” Lambert goes on to say that he expected the project to come into some issues anyway, so this doesn’t seem to be much of a surprise to him.
Sadly, this does mean there’ll be no N64 take on Portal, with little chance of it being revived. Which is a shame as it’s been in development for two years. However, Lambert has said he’s interested in pursuing an original game instead.
