Piranha Games announces the release of
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is
being delayed by three months, and the mech combat sequel is now expected on
December 10th. The game
was
first announced for launch in 2018, but
about a year ago Piranha pushed
this out to this year,
later
specifying a September 10th launch. The news also confirms
recent
speculation that the release will be exclusive to the Epic Games Store. To
help deal with blowback from the delay and the EGS news, they also announce they
are offering preorder customers full refunds between now and September 1st. This
comes with a warning that customers who accept a refund will forfeit their right
to participate in closed beta testing planned for November and will lose their
exclusive DLC bonuses, though they will be able to retain all bonus
MechWarrior
Online content they received. Here's
a FAQ
that covers the game, its new release date, Epic Games Store exclusivity,
refunds, and the closed beta. Word is they will also be holding a Town Hall
session later today and another tomorrow:
Developer Piranha Games today
announced that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, the classic series’ first single
player campaign-focused entry in more than 17 years, will now drop into battle
on December 10th exclusively on the Epic Games store. Community preorder pilots
will be able to run practice missions in November via a closed beta ahead of the
game’s full launch.
“Our partnership with the Epic Games store allows Piranha the opportunity to
make sure MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries meets our internal goal of creating the
best MechWarrior game possible,” said Russ Bullock, executive producer. “Since
we announced the development of the first single-player MechWarrior game in 17
years, we have stated that our goal was to deliver to fans a MechWarrior:
Mercenaries experience with true freedom of choice and to be able to share that
experience in a coop setting.
Understandably some fans will be disappointed that they have to wait a short
while longer for MechWarrior 5, but it’s important to Piranha Games that we
absolutely get this right. We are happy to say that our new partnership with
Epic Games store allows us the time and ability to accomplish our goals both in
the games development and marketing efforts.”
Fans looking to obtain refunds from their preorder of any tier are able to do so
by September 1st. Preorder refunds of any tier will be refunded in full.
Additionally, fans seeking refunds will be able to keep all bonus MechWarrior
Online content from the Standard, Collector and Ultimate Editions of the
preorder, which amount to $100, $180, and $300 dollars worth of in-game currency
and content for MechWarrior Online including all bonus items like XP, premium
time, badges, decals, cockpit items and more, depending on which preorder tier
they purchased. Refunded preorders will be unable to participate in the upcoming
closed beta for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, now scheduled for November as well
as lose the exclusive MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries DLC items.
More detailed information on announced features coming to MechWarrior 5:
Mercenaries can be found at the game’s FAQ:
https://mw5mercs.com/faq.
Piranha Games will host two Town Hall sessions this week: The first begins
tonight at 6:00 p.m. PT for fans located in North America, and the second Town
Hall is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT tomorrow, July 26th, for fans located in
Europe. Both events will take place on the community preorder Discord. Fans are
encouraged to join the conversation and voice their thoughts.
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is modeled after the gameplay style from MechWarrior
2: Mercenaries, granting players the freedom to run their campaigns how they
choose. In MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, pilots will build, manage, and guide
their own mercenary unit through a multi-year campaign during the sprawling
Third and Fourth Succession Wars enjoying by far the greatest amount of player
freedom and choice compared to past titles.
Whether braving missions alone, alongside AI-controlled pilots, or with the help
of up to three friends via co-op play, pilots will face complicated situations
with no perfect solution as they choose which contracts to accept, where in the
Inner Sphere to direct their attention, and how to balance repairs or upgrades
with maintaining their unit’s precious resources.
To stay locked onto the latest MechWarrior news, visit the MechWarrior 5:
Mercenaries (https://mw5mercs.com/) and
MechWarrior Online (https://mwomercs.com/)
websites, or follow Piranha Games on Twitter through @PiranhaGames (https://twitter.com/piranhagames)
and @MechWarriorF2P (https://twitter.com/Mechwarriorf2p).