Half-Life Remake Black Mesa Will Receive Beta for Xen

The Crowbar Collective has been working on Black Mesa, a remake for Half-Life, since 2012. It’s been in Steam Early Access since May 2015, with a good number of time spent finishing up Xen. The team’s work is coming to fruition though – after revealing some new footage of Xen to IGN, it confirmed a release was coming soon.

Before that though, there will be a beta “due for imminent release” so that players can work out the various kinks. It will mostly comprise of exploration and jumping puzzles, but should still provide a good look at the revamped alien realm (widely considered a low point in the original release). If it’s anything like the gameplay below, we should be in for a treat.

Though the finished portion doesn’t have a release date, Black Mesa itself will be out this year. Currently, the early access version offers several hours of campaign content, but revamped with new voiceovers, gameplay encounters, and much more. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.