To celebrate Half-Life's 15th birthday, the Black Mesa development team announced their plans to release a paid version of Black Mesa. Although the development team released Black Mesa as a free download, a paid version allows them to fully utilize the Source engine.
With a paid version the revenue contributes to two areas. The paid version allows the development team to forgo limitations with complete access to the Source engine, and it also supports the development team. Financial backing lets the Black Mesa team continue development and also earn an income at the same time.
The paid version of Black Mesa includes some features not found in the free version, yet those features still remain unannounced. The team won't forget about Black Mesa fans and promises to continue support of the free version. Alongside the paid release, the Black Mesa team also plans to release maps and some game assets for the modding community.
You can download the free version of Black Mesa from the official website.
