Paradox Will Publish Harebrained Schemes' Battletech Game When it Launches Later this Year

[ffronw]

Paradox Will Publish Harebrained Schemes' Battletech Game When it Launches Later this Year

Harebrained Schemes has secured Paradox as the publisher for its upcoming Kickstarter-funded Battletech game, which will enter beta on June 1.

PDXCon is in full swing over in Stockholm, and during the conference today, Harebrained Schemes CEO Jordan Weisman appeared on stage to announce that the turn-based Battletech his studio is working on is going to be published by Paradox. If you don't recall the game in question, it was funded on Kickstarter to the tune of $2,785,537 in November of 2015. Since then, there has been a steady stream of update to the Kickstarter page [https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/updates], including today's update, which announces the start date for the game's backer beta as June 1.


Johan Sjoberg, Chief Product Officer of Paradox Interactive, said of the partnership, "We couldn't miss the chance to work with Harebrained Schemes given how big of fans we are of their work on the Shadowrun Returns series. The opportunity to reintroduce our strategy-minded players to the tactical roots of the BattleTech universe makes this partnership even sweeter"

There's still no specific launch date for Battletech, but it's planned for sometime later this year.

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[Vigormortis]

As a backer of this project from the word 'go', I am....completely fine with this. This move will relieve HBS from having to worry about marketing and the like, thus allowing them to pour all of their resources into producing the game. (and FINALLY getting the damn beta out) Helps, too, that Paradox has no say in the creative process. HBS retains all creative control of the final product. Paradox is just there to market and publish through certain channels. (and take a cut)

June 1st can't come soon enough.

I've been thoroughly impressed with HBS' efforts thus far. They've been open and communicative with the community from the beginning. Their info updates have been frequent and robust, often giving out little extras in the form of content along side the info updates on how the project is shaping up. They didn't even beat around the bush when they had to announce the delay of the beta, even taking the time to explain exactly what caused the delay and attempting to make up for it with some goodies for the fans.

I wish more devs were as open as HBS.

 

[Bedinsis]

I remember when Paradox became the publisher for Pillars of Eternity, another much anticipated Kickstarter title. It went smoothly enough that Obsidian turned to Paradox to publish another game made in the same engine: Tyranny. So their track record is fine so far, though since I haven't played either Pillars of Eternity or Tyranny I might be talking out of my behind.

 

[pookie101]

paradox are fast becoming my favourite publisher

 

[chozo_hybrid]

Snip.

As a backer, do you know if their release then will be an early access one? I'm keen on it, but I don't get games while they are in early access, unless they happen to be in a bundle with the games I do really want.

 

[Cowabungaa]

paradox are fast becoming my favourite publisher

They'd be mine as well, if only they didn't often publish games in broken states. To their credit they almost always heavily follow up on their releases and try their hardest to fix stuff, but Stellaris for instance should've been in the cooker for a few extra months for sure.

So fingers crossed this will release in a more solid fashion. I've fallen in love with Battletech since Mechwarrior Online. Just let HSB do their thing guys.

 

[pookie101]

paradox are fast becoming my favourite publisher

They'd be mine as well, if only they didn't often publish games in broken states. To their credit they almost always heavily follow up on their releases and try their hardest to fix stuff, but Stellaris for instance should've been in the cooker for a few extra months for sure.

So fingers crossed this will release in a more solid fashion. I've fallen in love with Battletech since Mechwarrior Online.

oh i totally agree its a running joke that you wait a year for paradox games to be fully patched, but that said you can guarantee they will support a game long term with patches and new content

 

[Chefsbrian]

I am absolutely happy with this decision. Paradox is a good, solid publisher. Combine that with the general quality and community minded action of HBS, and we've got a great pairing for this release.

 

[The Madman]

This is among my most anticipated titles of the year and knowing Paradox are now the publishers doesn't change that in the least.

 

[Royas]

I'm looking forward to this game, now that I know about it. I've been a fan of Battletech since the very beginning, but was never thrilled by the video games. Battletech as a turn based strategy game will more accurately capture the feel of the tabletop game of old.

 

[Vigormortis]

Snip.

As a backer, do you know if their release then will be an early access one? I'm keen on it, but I don't get games while they are in early access, unless they happen to be in a bundle with the games I do really want.

Their plan is only to release the game when it is finished, not a moment before.

It's why the release date has not only been fluid, but also delayed past a nebulous "around this time" date. They even delayed the beta more than a month past its initial planned release date just so they could make sure it worked as intended.

Let me put it this way: The past few months have seen them narrow down the release date to the narrowest margin it's been since the project was announced. The release date is now listed as 'some time in late summer, fall, or maybe early winter'.

Also, their post-launch plans seem to be of the 'major expansion' sort rather than smaller, DLC fair. So, take that as you will.

 

[ciasteczkowyp]

This is great news... hopefully battletech will turn out a bit better than Torment Tides of Numa Numa

 

[Erttheking]

I am now severely regretting not going all the way when backing this game. Really wish I had beta access right now.

 

[Vigormortis]

I am now severely regretting not going all the way when backing this game. Really wish I had beta access right now.

I did but it's an agonizingly long two weeks until the beta actually drops.

I didn't go super high with my backing, but I did go to the tier just below the one that included the flight jacket.

[sub]The banner was totally worth the price.[/sub]

[sub][sub]No regerts...[/sub][/sub]

 

[4Aces]

Looks like they are using Unity to make this, so I hope they do not make the mistake of asking a full AAA price for it. I love how that never factors into why a game does not sell well (Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2). It is always those damned pirates...

 

[Vigormortis]

Looks like they are using Unity to make this, so I hope they do not make the mistake of asking a full AAA price for it. I love how that never factors into why a game does not sell well (Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2). It is always those damned pirates...

Um...what does using Unity have to do with the asking price?

Unity has become a very powerful, robust, and VERY versatile engine. It's scaleable and adaptable to many different requirements and situations. It can be used for simple, Flash-like sort of games, and all the way up to big, highly-detailed 3D games akin to what one might see on Source 2, Unreal Engine 4, Frostbite 2, etc.

I'm baffled by your comment, honestly. In game design it's always been down to how you use an engine, not which engine you use. I've seen a lot of beautiful, gorgeously detailed games running on older or more 'indie' engines, and a lot of lazy, lackluster, and hideous looking games running on the latest and greatest engines.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Wasn't the Battletech IP (along with Shadowrun) bought up my Microsoft some years ago? Obviously Shadowrun Returns and its sequels are a thing, I just don't remember any news about the rights to the IP reverting to Weisman or the like. I played Battletech on the Amiga and original XBox, good games.

 

[Mechamorph]

Well if they had to choose a publisher, Paradox Interactive is perhaps one of the best choices they could make unless CD Projekt Red goes into the publishing business. Could you imagine what would happen if Ubisoft published this? Or EA?

From what I've heard, PI has a light touch when publishing games and tend to publish games that the PI staff themselves want to see out there. Which is a lot more than the "Suits" culture of other publishers.