Harebrained Schemes, the developer best known for Shadowrun Returns, has announced that it is, once again, bringing its next project to Kickstarter. Entitled Battletech, the game is of the turn-based strategy variety and is based on the classic military fiction franchise of the same name.
“Harebrained Schemes is pleased to announce their return to Kickstarter this Fall to partner with Backers in co-funding the creation of Battletech,” reads the statement on the official site. “Jordan Weisman, the creator of Battletech and MechWarrior, is back with the first turn-based Battletech game for PC in over two decades.”
Battletech made its first appearance on the PC back in 1988. Conceived by Westwood, the turn-based RPG was later spun off as a combat simulation series dubbed MechWarrior.
Slated for Kickstarter this fall, you can expect Battletech to feature an “open-ended Mercenaries-style campaign”, combining the management styles of RPG ‘Mech and MechWarrior with more contemporary turn-based stratagems.
Previously, Harebrained Schemes took to Kickstarter with Shadowrun: Hong Kong. It has since fostered a reputation for, unlike many developers who take to crowdfunding with their ideas, actually delivering on its intentions.
With Hong Kong, the studio was pretty clear about already having the base funding to develop the game, but it needed support from fans in order to put out a less skeletal product, according to Game Informer.
Considering the rhetoric used in the media alert that was sent out, it’s safe to assume that Harebrained Schemes will utilize the same business model when Battletech‘s Kickstarter launches later this year.
Shadownrun: Honk Kong, on the other hand, will make its way to Windows, Mac, and Linux on August 20, after only six months of meeting its crowdfunding goals and — as expected from Harebrained Schemes by now — being released exactly as promised.