Battletech was a swift success when it debuted on Kickstarter in 2015, and now that it’s edging closer to release, it has secured a publishing contract with Paradox Interactive. Although the Swedish publisher is most commonly known for its historical games, it will launch Harebrained Schemes’ new, tactical, turn-based, mech shooter in the latter half of 2017.
Paradox has published many games over the years, but with Crusader Kings II, the Mount and Blade series, and the Hearts of Iron franchise, it has a penchant for looking into the past. However, titles like Stellaris and The Showdown Effect tie it to the future, too, so Battletech will not be lonely in the far future of Paradox’s library.
Shown off and playable for the first time over the past weekend at a Paradox convention, Battletech is a turn-based tactical title, featuring squads of four mechs per team, with various weapon loadouts and capabilities. The developers at Harebrained Schemes have made it clear that they want to capture the essence of the board game it’s based upon. While the setting and theme will remain though, the ruleset that fans of the original game loved so much will not carry over to the digital version.
Battletech doesn’t have a hard launch date set, though it is slated for release at some point in mid/late 2017. It may be that with a publisher now on board, Harebrained Schemes feels that a launch isn’t too far away. A beta is currently underway which lends more credence to the idea of a release that’s coming in the near future.
To celebrate its first public showing over the weekend, Harebrained also released a near one-hour video of gameplay presented by game director Mike McCain and studio manager Mitch Gitelman. In it, they showcase a variety of the game’s features, various gameplay systems, and the look and feel of the game itself.
