MechWarrior Online Legends

MechWarrior is an upcoming action simulation game currently under development by Piranha Games and Smith & Tinker for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. This game is essentially a reboot of the franchise, with the storyline taking place before the original MechWarrior. Development of the game is being led by two main project leaders, Jordan Weisman from Smith & Tinker and Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games.

Story

The story takes place in the year 3015 set on a planet called Deshler, near the end of the Third Succession War, set before the events of the original MechWarrior and right before Hanse Davion comes into power. The main protagonist is Adrian Khol, fourth son of the noble family who rules Deshler in the name of House Davion. Although in training as a MechWarrior, Adrian never takes his training and duties seriously, until the day his entire family is wiped out during the war. Spared from the massacre during a make-up test for mech training, Adrian eventually changes his thinking and takes up responsibility against the rebels who killed his family and takes his place as successor of the family throne.

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.

An official trailer was released on July 9, 2009 and revealed exclusively on IGN, using in game footage. The point of view shows a Warhammer moving through a cityscape on the planet Deshler, and takes down a Jenner by collapsing the building it's standing on. It encounters a formidable Atlas and engages it in battle, but eventually loses the fight. The pilot ejects from the doomed mech after the core breaches. The core burst whitewashes the screen, and the trailer ends with the game's logo.

Marketing

Following the announcement of the Reboot Smith & Tinker revealed that Mechwarrior 4 Vengeance and its many expansions( Clan mech pack, Inner Sphere mech pack, Mekpak 1-3, Black Knight, and Mercenaries) would be available to download for free through MekTek.net in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Mechwarrior series. The re-release of Mechwarrior 4 has inspired many retired mechwarrior veterans to come back and show publishers that not only is there a market for this kind of game genre but a thriving community of avid fans.