MechWarrior ready for a comeback?

By Robert Purchese Published 8 July, 2009

Video teasers make convincing case.

Robot franchise MechWarrior could be ready to make a return after seven years on the scrapheap.

A trio of teaser trailers on IGN, featuring hulking mechanised bipeds, point to as much.

Piranha Games is rumoured as the developer and EA as the publisher. Smith and Tinker now owns the rights to MechWarrior after creator FASA Studios closed following poor reception of Shadowrun.

IGN also happens to have an upcoming and coincidentally-timed interview with Piranha and Smith and Tinker. And Piranha, remember, has been working on an unannounced next-gen project since 2005.

MechWarrior is a very popular tabletop RPG series. Its videogame legacy comes from a series of action-shooter games where we take control of robots and blow things up.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (28) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Eraysor #1 3 years ago

    Hurrah!

  • mingster #2 3 years ago

    Sweet i liked Mechwarrior.
    Big stompy robots = good.

  • NegativeZero #3 3 years ago

    Let's hope that it's another outing for Mechwarrior, and not the dumbed-down MechAssault.

  • Megalodon #4 3 years ago

    Mechwarrior!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! I love the series! Crossing my fingers all the way, here.

  • Eraysor #5 3 years ago

    I agree, I hope it isn't MechAssault.

  • Freki #6 3 years ago

    I would much prefer a Mechwarrior type game but will take another Mech Assault if that is all that is offered. I do hope for some Clan Mechs, much prefer the look of them.

  • Nova5lag #7 3 years ago

    MMMM BANG BANG ZAP POW

  • slinkan #8 3 years ago

    Didn't look like MechWarrior mechs though as far as I could tell, I'm a bit rusty though so if someone with better eyes say otherwise I'll join in the Weee! Sweet! chorus

  • the_dudefather #9 3 years ago

    Hope it turns out to be 'METAL WOLF CHAOS 2: RE-ELECTION'

    Play as the President of the goddamn USA in a giant robot

  • Wolfman #10 3 years ago

    I want a more simmy mechwarrior game like Mechwarrior 2. Please no dumbing down! The mechwarrior 2 interface even had "dH/dT" as one of the labels on the interface. Genius!

  • Gurrah #11 3 years ago

    BEST. NEWS. EVER! Mechwarrior 2 is the first boxed game I've ever bought, used, but it still crowns the pile of boxes I've got on display in my room. It's got a f*cking MadCat on it.

  • MikeP #12 3 years ago

    Combine this with the persistent online elements of Chromehounds and I think you have a hit right there.

  • stevetuck #13 3 years ago

    Giant robots yay :D
    Edited by 1 at 08/07/09 @ 11:55

  • Freki #14 3 years ago

    Didn't look like MechWarrior mechs though as far as I could tell

    I think it is a Jenner according to the tag under the third vid. And it could very well be.

  • gynsu2000 #15 3 years ago

    "Game power up detected!"

  • Hokum #16 3 years ago

    Reactor Online, Weapons Online, Sensors Online, all systems nominal.

  • MrMud #17 3 years ago

    I love mechwarrior but the chance of seeing a "simulation" style mech game is slim to none.

  • MrMud #18 3 years ago

    Considering the modern day cars I have a hard time believing that this could be a Battletech game.

  • Vordred #19 3 years ago

    well about bloody time is all i can say

  • penhalion #20 3 years ago

    The original games were great and then they went and created ones where you could no longer blow legs off. After that the franchise pretty much went to pot. Especially as it was often necessary to alpha strike the legs off a mech like an atlas in order to stand any chance of beating it when riding something like a lowly raven. In the later games, when that was impossible, you ended up doing endless circle strafes until someone's reactor went critical or you were unfairly double teamed to death.

    For the new game I would like to see the ability to get in and out of these mechs, as well as some kind of third person action sections. Realistically though, the mech warrior franchise was only really fun when you were playing a mercenary. Heck I even remember the brilliant intro to mercenaries (which I still have) where your crew is legging it from an ambush on some unknown world and your mentor get's left behind. Then on the ship you get the brilliant last will from her "If you are reading this, then I'm dead. You can keep your mech...". You effectively inherit a mercenary unit and have to name it, choose your jobs etc. etc.

    What are the odds this new one is total crud.

  • Silvervein #21 3 years ago

    Hmm..if it's true, it's great news. I missed a mechwarrior game. I wouldn't miss new iteration of mech commander either :)
    I really hope they won't turn it into console shooter with shoddy port for pc...

  • kangarootoo #22 3 years ago

    Can you drive over a mech and break it's legs off?

  • kangarootoo #23 3 years ago

    Oh, and I too support the call for a more flight-sim style mech game. Speedy strafing and 100 missiles in each pocket is just not what MW is all about.

    A core part of the strategy was the lengthy cat'n'mouse end game that resulted, when everyone had ran out of decent weapons and was all busted up.

  • kangarootoo #24 3 years ago

    Can someone ban this clown. Spam like that is surely against the eula for this place.

  • Kitohru #25 3 years ago

    aawwhh... man it would be great if it is really another MechWarrior Game especially if its Mecernaries , man... I hope someone does another Mech Commander RTT game and for consoles as well, that would be awesome, I miss those games.

  • Rusty_M #26 3 years ago

    My 486sx33 wouldn't play these games back in the day. The closest I ever got was a greatly slowed "earthsiege" Would love to finally get a chance to give the franchise a try though.

  • RedSparrows #27 3 years ago

    Mechwarrer + Commander hybrid plx. /orgasm

  • brommers #28 3 years ago

    Well Finally! Been looking forward to the next mechwarroir game for years.
    please be good, please be good

    /crosses fingers