After two years of near-total silence about the fate of the Mechwarrior reboot, Piranha Games have announced Mechwarrior Online, a free-to-play, team-based multiplayer BattleMech sim. Its also going to tell the story of the Battletech universe in real-time, starting from just before the Clan Invasion of 3050. Each day, players will do battle on behalf of the universes major factions, and each day in the game will represent a single days action in the fictional Inner Sphere. It will go live in the second half of 2012.
Mechwarrior Online (MWO) might be free-to-play, but MWO Creative Director Bryan Ekman and Piranha President Russ Bullock insist this is going to be a proper Mechwarrior game in the tradition of Mechwarrior 2 through 4, not a successor to the Xbox action game Mech Assault. Ekman says joystick support is a strong probability, and both call this a Mech sim.
I think its really the Mechwarrior you know, Bullock says. Its fully first-person. Its not a new interpretation. Were modernizing things a little bit, I think well get to those questions, but certainly its Mechwarrior.
Another major part of the game is customization and organizing into mercenary units, Ekman explains.
Players will be able to band together in the format of a lance, which is four, and theyll be able to band together as a mercenary corporation for hire. Thats not unlike a guild. We have a whole editor and mercenary HQ for players to explore that allows them to customize the look and feel of their corporation, their membership, the structure of how they enter battle, the lances, their names, ranks, and all kinds of things.
However, in some very real ways, this is not the Mechwarrior you remember. And its a good thing, too, because Ekman and Piranha games have some very exciting ideas for how to make Mechwarrior more of a tactical sim and less of a shooter.
One of our core pillars is what we call information warfare, Ekman explains. Which basically boils down to controlling the flow of information on the battlefield. Whether it be your own information, or the information of your enemies. We want to make gameplay be less about an arms race, where you start in a light Mech but you really want to get into an assault Mech, because its the best thing there is.
The matches themselves will support multiple teams and multiple four-person squads (lances in Mechwarrior parlance). The primary focus will be Conquest mode, which will allow for more tactics and teamwork, but there will also be a variety of deathmatch modes available.
Ekman also promises that while players will be able to buy items with real money, nobody can buy anything that will confer a tactical advantage. Anything that would affect or give your a tactical advantage, you cant purchase with real cash. You have to earn that by playing the game, he says.
Mechwarrior online features multiple upgrade paths, both for Mechs and pilots, but it should not be too complicated. As Bullock says, If someone has played a combination of Mechwarrior, Call of Duty, and Diablo in their gaming life, theyre going to have seen everything that were offering for the most part.
Mechwarrior online, in keeping with the original games, will feature a variety of maps set across different environments and climates. In a universe where heat plays such a major role, with Mechs overheating from weapons fire and local temperature, that means different weather will make for very different tactics.
But big difference from previous games will be urban combat. One of the things we can do these days that previous games werent able to do well is urban combat, Ekman says. And its a cornerstone of MWO, this ability to actually fight in detailed urban settings.
You can find out more info from the official website: mwomercs.com. You should also stick around PC Gamer today for exclusive interviews with Ekman and Bullock, as they explain what happened these past two years, and go into detail about what Mechwarrior Online will be.
In the meantime, here is full press release:
MONTREAL, QUEBEC, October 31, 2011 Infinite Game Publishing Inc.(
www.infinitegamepublishing.com) and Piranha Games Inc. (
www.piranha-games.com) have announced
MechWarrior® Online (
www.mwomercs.com), the first officially licensed free-to-play title in the long-
standing and award-winning MechWarrior® franchise. MechWarrior Online is set to launch in the second
half of 2012 from newly formed digital publisher, Infinite Game Publishing.
Set in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war, MechWarrior Online puts
you in command of the most powerful war machine to ever walk the field of battle, the mighty
BattleMech. Command your Mech and customize it to suit your battlefield role; upgrade systems,
replace weapons, and tweak armor with endless options.
MechWarrior Online lets players command at will: go head-to-head online alone or with friends in high-
octane Conquest and VS modes. Band together and form your own Mercenary Corp, invite friends and
battle other player-made Merc Corps for prestige and power. Pledge your allegiance to one of the five
great houses and fight for control of precious Inner Sphere planets.
You will play a key role in a dynamic and ever-changing universe where player exploits impact the world
around you and daily story updates and frequent content additions create epic changes to the Inner
Sphere universe and its many inhabitants.
MechWarrior Online delivers a rich online experience, rewarding everything a player does with
experience points, C-Bills, unlocks, and recognition. Upgrade skills and refine your role in gameplay
using an all-new leveling system, and up-to-the minute detailed player statistics allow you to compare,
track and share your progress with other players.
Were excited to lead the MechWarrior franchise online for fans of the series, said Russ Bullock, co-
founder of Piranha Games. Were proud to partner with Infinite Game Publishing, and are thankful for
the fans of the MechWarrior series that have been so patient for the next MechWarrior game to arrive.
Infinite Game is a partner who understands both the world of games publishing and the crucial technical
needs of todays AAA online gaming experiences. Together we are bringing fans epic next-generation
Mech combat online in 2012.
More information about MechWarrior Online at
www.mwomercs.com.
