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MechWarrior 5 in development by Piranha Games, the studio that made MechWarrior Online

MechWarrior Online will continue development as well.

David Craddock

December 5, 2016 1:45 PM

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This weekend at the inaugural MechCon, developer Piranha Games announced MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries.

"Our main goal with MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is to provide fans with a standalone, story-driven single-player experience that allows for a great amount of flexibility in terms of player choice, built on a foundation of the intense, tactical mech combat the franchise is known for," said Piranha president Russ Bullock.

MechWarrior 5 will run on Unreal Engine 4 and is the first numbered, single-player MechWarrior since MW4: Vengeance in 2000. Piranha aims to release MW5 in 2018.

A trailer containing over seven minutes of gameplay was released in conjunction with the announcement.

Piranha Games is the developer of MechWarrior Online. Fans of MWO worried that MechWarrior 5 will supplant their game need not worry.

"Along with the release of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries in 2018, we're going to continue supporting our existing MechWarrior Online game and its fanbase with new updates and regular content releases," said Bullock. "MWO is now in its fifth year of development and operation, and there's still a lot of really cool stuff planned for it."

Craddock's Corner: MechWarrior 2 was my foray into the MW series. For some reason I never did play MW3 or 4. Maybe I should catch up before MW5 launches. Plenty of time. By the by, some relevant trivia: "Mercenaries" is an oft-used subtitle in the franchise. It was applied to one of MW2's expansions, and to MW4's one and only expansion pack. 

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.