Mechwarrior Online is now on Steam

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Mechwarrior Online's Community Warfare mode was originally expected to be operational in early 2013, but it didn't get into open beta until late in 2014. That longer-than-expected wait frustrated a lot of players, and CW certainly wasn't perfect when it kicked off, as we noted in our preview. But it was a big and much-needed step in the right direction, and with today's launch on Steam it's now "ready for full player participation."

"We're entering a new phase of our development of MechWarrior with this latest update, and we're excited to begin engaging our loyal fan base in new ways as we head into the next year," Piranha Games President Russ Bullock said. "It's been a long road to today's update with a lot of challenges that we've overcome with the support of the MechWarrior community, and we're looking forward to meeting the new pilots on the battlefield as we continue to expand MechWarrior Online."

Further "large updates" are expected in the near future, and Piranha is also livestreaming a launch event from its headquarters tomorrow, from 5 pm to 1 am PST, on Twitch.

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.