There are some companies that protect their IPs from fan creations like a starving dog guarding its dumpster fast-food find (cough, Nintendo). Then there are companies like 343 Industries that can acknowledge a fan's passion and give its blessing to a labor of love.

Such is the case with Installation 01, a fan-made multiplayer project being built with Unity 5 that pulls elements from Halo 2 and Halo 3, with "elements of Combat Evolved and Reach sprinkled in." The dev team has been working on the project, since late 2013, but as the game moved further along, it reached out to Halo developer 343 to make sure that everything was copacetic with the Halo elements being in the game. Recenty, 343 invited the team to a conference call to discuss the project.

"We are happy to announce that the outcome of the call was both incredibly informational and very positive,"  Project Manager Church said in a blog post. "Through these interactions we have been ensured that Installation 01 is not under imminent legal threat, provided we remain non-commercial in nature and scope, and continue to follow Microsoft’s Game Content Usage Rules to the letter."

Now come the caveats: "We are now able to say with certainty that Installation 01 will never be accepting donations. We also will not be selling i01 or Halo related merchandise. This is to keep a respectful distance between us and Microsoft’s intellectual property."

So, Installation 01 can continue on as it has been, provided they keep doing what they are doing and keep 343 in the loop, or Halo if you will. For those that know Halo lore, Installation 01 is known as Beta Halo and is the first ring in the Forerunners' Halo Array. It also the furthest Halo from the Ark.

The game is due out "soon."