Havok is a name which many gamers are familiar with - with the Havok physics middle ware solution in use by over 200 titles on the PC and console platforms. Havok brings physics systems into the hands of developers to enable them to implement physics easily into titles without creating a physics solution in house - this enables fast implementation of physics into game engines.

Havok have announced that their Havok Complete software product will be available for download in May 2008 for non-commercial use absolutely free. By allowing both users and developers to download the Havok Complete application for free, there is hope that the technology will become more accessible and well known amongst indie devs, and start-up companies who would otherwise not be able to afford to use the product.

A short list of titles which have utilised Havok physics in the past are Bioshock, Halo 3, and Heavenly Sword, other well known titles include Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion


Bioshock, Halo 3, Heavenly Sword
Havok has also entered into an agreement with Intel, its parent company, which enables approved developers creating titles for the PC to utilise a commercial distribution licence for free.

Renee J. James Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Software and Solutions Group of Intel had the following to say:

Intel is very pleased to be sponsoring this direction in the PC market. This aligns with our ongoing strategy of putting the best software tools in the hands of PC games developers.

In addition to the announcement of the upcoming free download of the Havok Complete application for non-commercial purposes, Havok also has revealed two new software products - Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction.

Havok Cloth and Destruction are set to provide artists with increased control, realism and flexibility over cloth and destructible objects within game titles. The widespread distribution of the Havok Complete software will make the inclusion of Havok technology more widespread in titles, and also allow indie or budding developers to play around with some of the best physics technology for gaming around.