Physics middleware developer Havok has announced that its Havok Complete software for the PC will soon be free.
The software package, which includes Havok Physics and Havok Animation tools, will be made available as a free-of-charge downloadable package. Approved developers will also be able to execute a commercial distribution license with Havok at no charge under the terms of the deal, which “seeks to propel innovative game development” by making the technology available to a wide range of the PC sector, including “independent developers, academic institutions and enthusiasts in the PC space.”
“Havok has an excellent revenue base generated by sales of our three products across multiple platforms and into multiple industries,” said Havok Managing Director David O’Meara. “This enables us to make an industry-changing move and opens up a much broader market for products such as Havok Behavior – and our new products Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction – that really come alive when adopted on top of our core platform, Havok Complete.” The company also noted that its focus remains cross-platform, and that its console tools remain available only commercially.
The move follows the February acquisition of competing physics software developer Ageia Technologies, developer of the PhysX middleware, by graphics technology giant Nvidia, which said it plans to integrate PhysX technology into future iterations of its GPU hardware. Havok itself was purchased by CPU manufacturer Intel in September 2007.
