Venerated Battletech-based mechanized combat series
MechWarrior will receive a reboot in for the first time since 2002's
MechWarrior 4, thanks to Smith and Tinker and developer Piranha Games.
IGN
has the first details on the new
MechWarrior, revealing that the Unreal Engine 3-powered game will release on Xbox 360 and PC, although it has not yet been given a release window or publisher.
The original
MechWarrior games have been published by MicroProse, Activision and Microsoft over the years. Microsoft acquired developer FASA Interactive, the electronic division of the franchise creators, in the 1990s, but closed it in 2007.
Jordan Weisman, co-founder of FASA and co-creator of
BattleTech, founded Smith and Tinker late in 2007, and
acquired back the electronic rights to
MechWarrior from Microsoft, along with the rights to make games with other FASA IP, including
Crimson Skies and
Shadowrun.
Although at the time Weisman didn't detail his plans for any of these properties, his move renewed fan enthusiasm and speculation for a new
MechWarrior title which has persisted since.
Vancouver-based Piranha Games has developed Wii titles
The Strike and
The Hunt as well as working with Luxoflux on the just-shipped
Transformers 2 game, and creating the PSP versions of
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Need For Speed: Underground and
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2.
