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MechWarrior Online

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Developer(s)Piranha Games, Smith & Tinker[1]
Publisher(s)Infinite Game Publishing
EngineCryENGINE 3[2]
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseSummer 2012
Genre(s)Action, simulation, free to play[3]
Mode(s)Multiplayer

MechWarrior Online is an upcoming free to play, action simulation game under development by Piranha Games for the Microsoft Windows platform. Development of the game is being led by Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games, and is part of a licensing agreement with Smith & Tinker for the rights to create MechWarrior for the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Xbox 360 platforms.

Plot

The story starts in 3049, at the beginning of the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere, and progresses in real-time.

Development

Jordan Weisman, founder of Smith & Tinker and previously founder of the disbanded FASA Corporation which worked on the MechWarrior series, negotiated the license back from Microsoft after the software giant left the property idle for years, since their last foray with the MechAssault series. Russ Bullock from Piranha Games was a long time fan of the series and wanted to start a joint collaboration with Weisman. He contacted Weisman to develop a prototype project that eventually became the new iteration in the MechWarrior series. Production of the new MechWarrior game first began on October 2008, where the two studios started discussing the project on pen and paper. After coming up with a presentation for a prototype scenario, both studios began ramping up a full-time team to work on the new game in March 2009.[4] In October 2011 a Twitter campaign was launched as the start of the advertising campaign.[5]

On September 3, 2009, shortly after posting preview videos and images of the game, IGN was issued a cease and desist order by Harmony Gold USA (owners of the Robotech franchise), citing copyright infringement. In 1996, FASA (the former owners of the BattleTech franchise) were involved in a legal case over the use of mecha designs derived from the Macross series, and decided to discontinue using images of mecha that were developed outside of FASA. These 'Mechs were then referred to by fans as the Unseen.[6] The trailer for MechWarrior featured the Warhammer, one of the Unseen, which is designed similarly to the Destroid Tomahawk from the Macross and Robotech Series.[7] The Warhammer, as well as several other 'Mechs, such as the Marauder and Archer, were an important part of the early BattleTech universe and image, but were based on images from Macross and other mecha anime series, which FASA had licensed from the original Japanese creators, but Harmony Gold claimed the images as their own property inside the US. The matter is further complicated by Harmony Gold's own legal troubles surrounding the ownership of the original rights. It is currently unknown if the Unseen will be used in the final game or not. In June 2011, Bryan Ekman, from Piranha Games, tweeted that there was, in fact, no dispute with Harmony Gold, and that they were not responsible for the game's delays.[8]

References

  1. ^ MechWarrior Online on IGN
  2. ^ "IGN MechWarrior Online To Use CryENGINE 3". 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  3. ^ "Dev Blog 0". 2011-10-23. Retrieved 2011-11-18.
  4. ^ "IGN MechWarrior Q&A - The First Details". 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  5. ^ "InnerSphereNews". Retrieved 2011-10-04.
  6. ^ "Harmony Gold V. FASA". Alex.kaempen.org. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
  7. ^ IGN: MechWarrior 5 Trouble Brewing?
  8. ^ "Twitter / Bryan Ekman: Just a small update. Harmo". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
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