Ignoring the wild cheesy mod-heavy loadout (which is now actually riding on a Hero chassis for the additional bonuses, as if I need them), rate my idealized self as a salvaged Clan-busting mercenary Vulture.

In the run-up to the release of Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries we should give appreciation for what everyone at Piranha Games have done for Mechwarrior & Battletech. Not enough credit is given to the amazing folks who put their hearts, blood, sweat, & tears into this franchise.

Back in 2009, PGI plus Smith & Tinker wanted to resurrect Mechwarrior from the catacombs of Microsoft. Yet no publishers wanted to fund the development of MW:3015, even after going public with a visual slice trailer on IGN. This didn’t deter PGI as  they still went on to lay the groundwork for Mechwarrior Online with the help of crowdfunding and minor publishing from IGP.

In 2012 not only did the people at PGI manage to put out a F2P multiplayer Mechwarrior in CryEngine in 2012, it also re-launched a lot of the iconic mechs by hiring the amazingly talented Art God known as Alex Iglesias aka Flying Debris. For the first time in history, PGI established an annual MechCon in 2016 that gathered all the active branches of the Battletech and Mechwarrior universe under one roof in Vancouver to come together and celebrate.

In 2017 Harmony Gold used their copyright trolling to once again damage and extort all of the Battletech and Mechwarrior artists at Catalyst Game Labs, Harebrained Schemes, and Piranha Games for their redesigned Unseen mechs. Here, PGI took a stand and saved everybody’s asses (especially those that had defaulted the case) and basically ensured that the Unseen are back for good. If not for PGI, we would never have gotten the Marauder and Warhammer back!

In 2019, PGI is putting all their energy and funds into making the first singleplayer Mechwarrior in SEVENTEEN years. No longer hidden away by Microsoft’s disregard for Mechwarrior, we are getting a singleplayer Mechwarrior game developed in the state-of-the-art Unreal Engine 4 in 2019. All in all, it cannot be overstated how important PGI have been for the Mechwarrior & Battletech overall. It is simply astounding how they have helped bring about a new Golden Age for Mechwarrior & Battletech after 15 years of twilight and everybody thinking it was dead.

Sorry for another text post but the news about Mechwarrior 5 going temporary exclusive to Epic Game Store warrants it: This was the right decision to make by Piranha Games Interactive It only increases the chances of a successful and quality game.

The extra money gives PGI the opportunity to hire more developers, give a much stronger marketing push, and we get German, French, Russian localization at launch

It enables PGI to delay MW5 away from Gears of War 5 and Borderlands which would’ve crushed the potential sales of MW5

By being on the EGS store, the recoup point for MW5 is much, much smaller. 12% cut on EGS versus 35% on Steam? Only a fool would go with the latter. We are talking 3/4 of sales on EGS being as significant as on Steam

If you don’t like to install another software launcher, ask for a refund and you still get to keep all your MWO content for free!

Wait and see how the game is when it releases in December. No one is forcing you to preorder now.

Mechwarrior 5: Mercs will still come out on Steam and GOG next year and at that point will be even better thanks to patches and the awesome modding community.

This is the first singleplayer Mechwarrior game in 17 years and you want to quit because you can’t be bothered by installing another launcher? Come on  

This deal gives us a better overall and polished game, lessens the financial risks, gets the game bigger marketing, a higher chance of success and thereby more Mechwarrior games in the future, and finally you can get  your money back and wait, and it'll still be on Steam and GOG later