Battletech release date revealed in a new story trailer

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The new trailer for Harebrained's turn-based tactical combat game Battletech sets up a not-exactly-new tale of deposed backwater nobility going to war to reclaim their lost throne. But you're not the noble—you're the hired gun taking up arms for the cause not because you're a believer but because you've got bills to pay. It's a fairly bare-bones setup, but as an excuse to hustle around in hundreds of tons of stomping, fire-spitting death robots for cash. It'll do. More relevantly to our immediate interests, the trailer also brings us a release date of April 24.   

"We’re massively thankful to our Kickstarter backers and fans of the MechWarrior legacy," Harebrained co-founder and Battletech creator Jordan Weisman said. "Without their patience, dedication and support, this modern turn-based Battletech wouldn’t soon be launching on PC and Mac." 

One of the reasons the story isn't such a big deal, as Harebrained explained a couple of weeks ago, is that as a mercenary commander, the problems of this particular princess are not necessarily your own. It will presumably serve you well to back up her claim—a regular paycheck and first salvage rights may not be the most exciting way to earn a living, but it's better than watching the repo man tow away your Warhammer—but you're free to wander amongst the stars, taking contracts to earn space-bucks and glory as you see fit. 

It's an approach that can really give a game like this legs if it's handled well, and it's showing signs that it will: We said in a January preview that it's "shaping up to be a great tactical combat game, and an absorbing mercenary sim." Which is no promise of anything, but definitely promising.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.