New MechWarrior Set for PC and Xbox 360

The classic vehicular simulation MechWarrior series is getting a reboot on the PC and Xbox 360. MechWarrior is based on the BattleTech mythos. Spread across over a thousand years, BattleTech features a rich history of high-tech warfare. The main weapons of choice in the universe are BattleMechs,giant multi-pedal super tanks built for destruction. The BattleTech series has resulted in numerous novels, television shows, tabletop games and, of course, video games.

In 1989, the first MechWarrior game was released for the PC. The title allows players to pilot the highly destructive BattleMechs. Aside from following mission objectives, you can also buy and upgrade parts for your war machine.

Throughout the years, the MechWarrior series switched hands quite often. MechWarrior, MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat and the two expansions for the second game (Ghost Bear's Legacy and Mercenaries) were published by Activision. Microprose subsequently published MechWarrior 3 and its expansion, Pirate's Moon. Finally, Microsoft went on to publish MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and its two expansions: Black Knight and Mercenaries. Aside from the main series, there were also several spin-off titles including the strategic MechCommander games and the console-specific MechAssault titles.

While the series was highly praised, it never reached mainstream success. As a result, the publishing rights changed hands often and the games were unevenly spread out through the years.

FASA Corporation is the video game development team responsible for four MechWarrior titles: MechWarrior 4: Vengeance and Mercenaries in addition to MechCommander 1 and 2. In 1999, Microsoft bought FASA Corporation and made them a part of Microsoft Games Studios. After the critical and financial flop of their last title, Shadowrun on the PC and Xbox 360, the developer was disbanded.

Jordan Weisman, who was the founder of FASA Corporation, ended up opening another game development company, Smith & Tinker in 2007. Later that year, the new company managed to acquire licenses from Microsoft for Jordan Weisman's previous projects. The list included Crimson Skies, Shadowrun and, of course, MechWarrior.

As a result, a new MechWarrior game for the PC and Xbox 360 is in development by a collaborative effort between Smith & Tinker and Piranha Games. Instead of going with MechWarrior 5, Smith & Tinker and Piranha Games decided to simply go with "MechWarrior" for the title.

Curiously, a Playstation 3 version wasn't announced. The omission could be due to Microsoft owning the rights to MechWarrior and/or the vast differences in coding architecture of the Playstation 3 when compared to PC/Xbox 360.

No release date has been announced yet for the PC and Xbox 360 version of MechWarrior.