<s>
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
is	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
vehicle	O
simulation	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
officially	O
launched	O
during	O
September	O
2013	O
by	O
Piranha	O
Games	O
for	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
takes	O
place	O
within	O
the	O
larger	O
BattleTech	B-Application
universe	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
control	O
large	O
bipedal	O
combat	O
vehicles	O
known	O
as	O
battlemechs	B-Application
and	O
compete	O
against	O
other	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jordan	O
Weisman	O
,	O
co-creator	O
of	O
BattleTech	B-Application
and	O
co-founder	O
of	O
FASA	O
,	O
is	O
also	O
the	O
founder	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
firm	O
Smith	O
&	O
Tinker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
negotiated	O
the	O
BattleTech/MechWarrior	O
license	O
back	O
from	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
left	O
the	O
property	O
sit	O
idle	O
for	O
several	O
years	O
since	O
abandoning	O
the	O
series	O
after	O
Mechwarrior	B-Application
4	I-Application
:	I-Application
Mercenaries	I-Application
in	O
2002	O
and	O
cancelling	O
FASA	O
Studios	O
 '	O
potential	O
Mechwarrior	B-Application
5	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
contacted	O
Weisman	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
prototype	O
project	O
that	O
would	O
become	O
the	O
new	O
iteration	O
in	O
the	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
series	O
of	O
video	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pre-production	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
game	O
first	O
began	O
in	O
October	O
2008	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
two	O
studios	O
started	O
discussing	O
the	O
project	O
on	O
pen	O
and	O
paper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
titled	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
3015	O
and	O
its	O
premise	O
was	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
This	O
new	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
is	O
set	O
on	O
the	O
planet	O
Deshler	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
3015	O
,	O
and	O
places	O
players	O
in	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Adrian	O
Khol	O
,	O
a	O
wayward	O
nobleman	O
who	O
prefers	O
partying	O
and	O
shirking	O
responsibility	O
over	O
his	O
training	O
and	O
studies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
when	O
House	O
Kurita	O
launches	O
a	O
massive	O
invasion	O
to	O
conquer	O
Deshler	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
the	O
death	O
of	O
his	O
entire	O
family	O
,	O
Khol	O
discovers	O
a	O
purpose	O
to	O
fight	O
for.PGI	O
and	O
Smith	O
&	O
Tinker	O
developed	O
a	O
vertical	O
slice	O
developed	O
in	O
Unreal	O
Engine	O
3	O
due	O
to	O
PGI	O
's	O
familiarity	O
with	O
the	O
engine	O
for	O
Transformers	B-Application
2	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
PGI	O
used	O
the	O
UE3	O
game	O
engine	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
what	O
a	O
new	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
game	O
might	O
look	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
conditions	O
were	O
worsened	O
by	O
the	O
2008	O
financial	O
crisis	O
and	O
caused	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
publishers	O
willing	O
to	O
fund	O
Smith	O
&	O
Tinker	O
's	O
and	O
PGI	O
's	O
singleplayer	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
3015	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
Weisman	O
,	O
Ekman	O
,	O
and	O
Bullock	O
wrote	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
dev	O
blog	O
post	O
for	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
Online	O
:	O
"	O
The	O
hard	O
work	O
began	O
in	O
earnest	O
after	O
the	O
video	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
month	O
of	O
August	O
we	O
met	O
with	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
major	O
publishers	O
,	O
pitched	O
the	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
game	O
to	O
a	O
captive	O
audience	O
and	O
waited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
late	O
fall	O
2009	O
,	O
our	O
dreams	O
of	O
making	O
a	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
game	O
,	O
began	O
slowly	O
drifting	O
away	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
vertical	O
slice	O
and	O
project	O
pitch	O
did	O
not	O
manage	O
to	O
land	O
any	O
third-party	O
publisher	O
and	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
not	O
willing	O
to	O
back	O
the	O
project	O
despite	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
being	O
their	O
own	O
IP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C&D	O
from	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
effect	O
on	O
the	O
viability	O
of	O
landing	O
a	O
publishing	O
deal	O
for	O
a	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
project:Contrary	O
to	O
all	O
the	O
press	O
and	O
speculation	O
that	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
was	O
getting	O
in	O
the	O
way	O
of	O
a	O
deal	O
or	O
development	O
,	O
this	O
had	O
no	O
impact	O
whatsoever	O
on	O
development	O
or	O
signing	O
a	O
deal	O
for	O
MechWarrior.After	O
not	O
being	O
able	O
to	O
land	O
a	O
publishing	O
deal	O
,	O
Smith	O
&	O
Tinker	O
and	O
PGI	O
went	O
their	O
separate	O
ways	O
,	O
but	O
now	O
PGI	O
had	O
the	O
ear	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
to	O
license	O
the	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
IP	O
from	O
them	O
through	O
their	O
contact	O
with	O
Smith	O
&	O
Tinker	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
PGI	O
already	O
had	O
experience	O
with	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
and	O
because	O
it	O
was	O
relatively	O
cheaper	O
to	O
develop	O
within	O
the	O
deathmatch	O
multiplayer	O
genre	O
,	O
they	O
downscaled	O
the	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
project	O
into	O
a	O
multiplayer-only	O
game	O
and	O
"	O
Offers	O
were	O
coming	O
in	O
from	O
all	O
over	O
the	O
planet	O
,	O
especially	O
to	O
make	O
or	O
license	O
a	O
free-to-play	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
game.	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
also	O
chose	O
to	O
change	O
engine	O
into	O
CryEngine	B-Application
3	I-Application
and	O
hired	O
Battletech	B-Application
artist	O
Alex	O
Iglesias	O
to	O
redesign	O
the	O
mechs	O
,	O
thereby	O
making	O
the	O
previous	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
3015	O
trailer	O
's	O
in-game	O
footage	O
no	O
longer	O
applicable	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
lower	O
costs	O
of	O
a	O
multiplayer-only	O
game	O
it	O
possible	O
to	O
attract	O
venture	O
capital	O
from	O
Infinite	O
Game	O
Publishing	O
to	O
help	O
PGI	O
hire	O
more	O
people	O
and	O
put	O
resources	O
into	O
a	O
late	O
Alpha/beta	O
version	O
of	O
what	O
would	O
be	O
known	O
as	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
Online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
official	O
title	O
of	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
came	O
later	O
in	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
October	O
2011	O
a	O
Twitter	B-Application
campaign	O
was	O
launched	O
as	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
the	O
advertising	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
Game	O
Developer	O
's	O
Conference	O
(	O
GDC	O
)	O
in	O
March	O
2012	O
,	O
PGI	O
unveiled	O
the	O
first	O
trailer	O
for	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
Online	O
in	O
its	O
early	O
closed	O
beta	O
state	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
22	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Piranha	O
Games	O
announced	O
the	O
start	O
of	O
closed	O
beta	O
testing	O
for	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
pre-purchase	O
promotion	O
,	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
offered	O
three	O
tiers	O
of	O
Founders	O
packages	O
—	O
Legendary	O
,	O
Elite	O
,	O
and	O
Veteran	O
—	O
all	O
of	O
which	O
provided	O
advanced	O
beta	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
package	O
has	O
four	O
tiers	O
,	O
offering	O
a	O
new	O
BattleMech	B-Application
from	O
each	O
weight	O
class	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
premium	O
time	O
and	O
cockpit	O
items	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
additional	O
package	O
,	O
the	O
Saber	O
Reinforcement	O
,	O
including	O
two	O
further	O
medium	O
class	O
BattleMechs	B-Application
,	O
was	O
unveiled	O
on	O
August	O
28	O
,	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
23	O
,	O
2013	O
,	O
Piranha	O
Games	O
added	O
a	O
custom	O
BattleMech	B-Application
for	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
daughter	O
who	O
died	O
of	O
cancer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
Steam	B-Application
on	O
December	O
10	O
,	O
2015	O
with	O
a	O
peak	O
concurrent	O
player	O
count	O
of	O
4,111	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
3	O
,	O
2009	O
,	O
shortly	O
after	O
posting	O
preview	O
videos	O
and	O
images	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
IGN	O
was	O
issued	O
a	O
cease	O
and	O
desist	O
order	O
by	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
USA	O
(	O
owners	O
of	O
the	O
Robotech	O
franchise	O
)	O
,	O
citing	O
copyright	O
infringement	O
over	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
several	O
BattleMech	B-Application
designs	O
allegedly	O
based	O
on	O
mecha	O
designs	O
derived	O
from	O
the	O
Macross	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
the	O
trailer	O
for	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
featured	O
the	O
Warhammer	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
similar	O
in	O
design	O
to	O
the	O
Destroid	O
Tomahawk	O
from	O
the	O
Macross	O
and	O
Robotech	O
Series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Warhammer	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
several	O
other	O
BattleMechs	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Marauder	O
and	O
Archer	O
,	O
were	O
an	O
important	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
early	O
BattleTech	B-Application
universe	O
and	O
image	O
,	O
but	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
images	O
from	O
Macross	O
and	O
other	O
mecha	O
anime	O
series	O
that	O
FASA	O
had	O
licensed	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
Japanese	O
creators	O
but	O
which	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
claimed	O
as	O
their	O
own	O
property	O
inside	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
C&D	O
from	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
any	O
effect	O
on	O
the	O
viability	O
of	O
landing	O
a	O
publishing	O
deal	O
for	O
a	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
project:Contrary	O
to	O
all	O
the	O
press	O
and	O
speculation	O
that	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
was	O
getting	O
in	O
the	O
way	O
of	O
a	O
deal	O
or	O
development	O
,	O
this	O
had	O
no	O
impact	O
whatsoever	O
on	O
development	O
or	O
signing	O
a	O
deal	O
for	O
MechWarrior.In	O
June	O
2011	O
,	O
Bryan	O
Ekman	O
,	O
from	O
Piranha	O
Games	O
,	O
tweeted	B-Application
that	O
there	O
was	O
,	O
in	O
fact	O
,	O
no	O
dispute	O
with	O
Harmony	O
Gold	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
they	O
were	O
not	O
responsible	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
delay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Around	O
2013	O
and	O
2015	O
,	O
all	O
the	O
Battletech	B-Application
and	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
properties	O
had	O
started	O
re-introducing	O
redesigned	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
Unseen	O
mechs	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
Warhammer	O
,	O
Marauder	O
,	O
and	O
Rifleman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Catalyst	O
Game	O
Labs	O
had	O
started	O
using	O
the	O
Warhammer	O
,	O
Marauder	O
,	O
and	O
Rifleman	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
cover	O
artwork	O
for	O
various	O
products	O
;	O
PGI	O
had	O
introduced	O
the	O
Marauder	O
,	O
Warhammer	O
,	O
Archer	O
,	O
and	O
Rifleman	O
re-designed	O
by	O
Alex	O
Iglesias	O
in	O
the	O
fall	O
of	O
2015	O
;	O
and	O
Harebrained	O
Schemes	O
had	O
reused	O
those	O
same	O
mechs	O
and	O
their	O
models	O
from	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
Online	O
for	O
their	O
upcoming	O
Battletech	B-Application
videogame	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
their	O
Kickstarter	O
and	O
in	O
the	O
first	O
alpha	O
gameplay	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Atlas	O
and	O
the	O
Shadowhawk	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
Harebrained	O
Schemes	O
 '	O
Battletech	B-Application
videogame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Harebrained	O
Schemes	O
would	O
later	O
re-introduce	O
the	O
redesigned	O
Unseen	O
mechs	O
in	O
the	O
Heavy	O
Metal	O
expansion	O
pack	O
in	O
2019	O
and	O
Catalyst	O
Game	O
Labs	O
accompanied	O
their	O
public	O
announcement	O
about	O
the	O
case	O
's	O
dismissal	O
with	O
a	O
large	O
artwork	O
of	O
the	O
redesigned	O
Marauder	O
by	O
the	O
artist	O
Marco	O
Mazzoni	O
,	O
while	O
PGI	O
would	O
continue	O
with	O
selling	O
the	O
redesigned	O
mechs	O
in	O
Mechwarrior	B-Device
:	O
Online	O
and	O
feature	O
them	O
in	O
MechWarrior	B-Application
5	I-Application
:	I-Application
Mercenaries	I-Application
,	O
later	O
introducing	O
a	O
redesign	O
of	O
another	O
of	O
the	O
Macross-derived	O
Unseen	O
mechs	O
,	O
the	O
Crusader	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
from	O
critics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IGN	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
7.3	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
gameplay	O
is	O
solid	O
and	O
characterized	O
it	O
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
to	O
twitch-reflex	O
based	O
shooters	O
in	O
that	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
rewards	O
cautious	O
play	O
,	O
thoughtful	O
weapon	O
use	O
,	O
and	O
using	O
advanced	O
tactics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameTrailers	O
awarded	O
a	O
score	O
of	O
6.0	O
out	O
of	O
10	O
praising	O
the	O
ability	O
for	O
players	O
to	O
customize	O
their	O
BattleMechs	B-Application
,	O
but	O
criticizing	O
the	O
cumbersome	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
did	O
a	O
poor	O
job	O
at	O
explaining	O
its	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
gave	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
Online	I-Device
a	O
score	O
of	O
60	O
out	O
of	O
100	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
praised	O
MechWarrior	B-Device
Onlines	I-Device
graphics	O
,	O
gameplay	O
,	O
and	O
customization	O
,	O
but	O
criticized	O
it	O
for	O
its	O
high	O
learning	O
curve	O
,	O
lack	O
of	O
game	O
modes	O
,	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
maps	O
that	O
supported	O
12v12	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
