Piranha Games announces MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

The BattleTech universe is set to get its first single-player game in a decade and a half, somewhat unoriginally titled MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, courtesy of MechWarrior Online's Piranha Games.

The news that 2002's MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries was to get an unexpected follow-up from Piranha Games was broken back in 2009, though the expected MechWarrior 5 actually launched as MechWarrior Online. Given its name, those unfamiliar with the title will be unsurprised to hear that the game was a multiplayer affair with a microtransaction framework many proclaimed as being little short of a pay-to-win system giving those willing to pony up the cash an unfair advantage over those trying to progress through the ranks organically.

Despite complaints surrounding MechWarrior Online's microtransactions and stalled development by its creators, Piranha Games is back with the game everyone in 2009 expected: MechWarrior 5. Borrowing the same Mercenaries subtitle as 2002's MechWarrior 4, the game is expected to offer the same formula that made its predecessor a cult classic: the ability to roam the land in a giant mech, laying waste to enemies and buildings alike, earning credits to spend on new and bigger mechs and systems for customisation.

Sadly for fans of the franchise, its release is not expected until at least 2018: footage shown off at Mech_Con 2016 and reproduced below was described as from a pre-alpha build, with scant more details available on the official website.