MechWarrior 4: Vengeance to Become Free for Download

To celebrate the 25^th anniversary of BattleTech, MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and its two expansion packs (Black Knight and Mercenaries) have been made free for all to download and play. MechWarrior is a spin-off of the BattleTech brand. Launching in 1984, BattleTech is a strategic tabletop game that would eventually expand to numerous entertainment mediums like novels, television shows and video games.

The BattleTech universe is set in a fictional, high-tech setting where conflicts and wars often occur. The main war machines are the BattleMechs, which are tank-like gears that could walk around with two or four legs. Some could even fly through the sky. The BattleMechs designs are heavily influenced from Japanese animated cartons like Macross and Robotech.

Eventually, BattleTech expanded into PC gaming. Released in 1989, MechWarrior marks the first time players can directly control the pilots of the high-destructive BattleMechs. MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat would be released six years later in 1995, followed by the Ghost Bear's Legacy expansion pack later in the year and Mercenaries in 2006. MechWarrior 3 and its Pirate's Moon expansion pack both came out in 1999.

MechWarrior 4: Vengeance was released a year later in 2000. In the most refined experience yet, the fourth game in the long-running series features a diverse roster of BattleMechs with many upgrades and changeable parts. Players can use these powerful machines in the epic single player mode or through the robust multiplayer. The MechWarrior series has never been better than MechWarrior 4: Vengeance. The main title was followed by two expansions in subsequent years: Black Knight in 2001 and Mercenaries in 2002.

Throughout the years, the MechWarrior series changed hands plenty of time. For MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and its two expansion packs, publisher Microsoft handed development to FASA Interactive. The latter would eventually closed its door in 2007.A few key members of FASA Interactive ended up founding a new development company called Smith & Tinker.

It didn't take long for Smith & Tinker to acquire the rights for the MechWarrior intellectual property from Microsoft. As a result, they are now co-developing a new MechWarrior title after a long hiatus.

With the reboot of the series still far from release, Smith & Tinker decided to make the wait more bearable for fans of BattleTech and MechWarrior by re-releasing MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and its two expansion packs, Black Knight and Mercenaries, for free.

No release date has been announced for the free versions of MechWarrior 4: Vengeance, Black Knight and Mercenaries. However, the titles should be available very soon for the PC.