Following in the footsteps of Valve, the development team behind the much-anticipated Half-Life 1 remake Black Mesa have announced that it will not make 2009 as originally planned. The team released an nostalgia-inducing trailer last year, pegging a late 2009 date on the Source engine powered mod, a release target which unfortunately will be missed.

In a forum post on the official Black Mesa site, project leader cman2k apologized for the setback, reassuring that the team has made great strides towards the project’s completion. If things continue at the current pace, there’s hope that development may wrap up sometime next year, though no promises are being made. The delay likely won’t come as a complete surprise to those who have been following Black Mesa, considering this isn’t the first time its release has been pushed back.

Cynics may now rejoice, bets may be collected, and I think a mod team member has to eat his shoe, but we hope our loyal fans will forgive us and realize that the delay will translate into a better final product that’s (hopefully) more easily available to everyone.

Once again we apologize for what has to be very disappointing news. We placed a 2009 deadline on ourselves to motivate us and bring this 6 year project to a close. And while we didn’t quite make it, we have come very close, and you can expect a complete, polished game to hit your hard drives in the near future. We’ll be sure and update if anything changes. Until then, hang tight, it’s coming!

Take your time, we’ll wait it out. Honestly, considering these modders are working for free out of their spare time, just knowing that the project is alive and well is good enough for me.

Black Mesa 2009 Update [BMS]

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