During Mechcon 2016, a brand new game was announced this week that is sure to make fans of one long running series very happy. Piranha Games has announced that Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries is going to be launching in 2018.

The head of the studio took the stage in order to announce the upcoming title and gave a few details about what players can expect in a few years when the game launches. During the event it was pointed out that this is a completely standalone singleplayer game.

Mechwarrior 5 is going to be developed by a team that is completely different from the one that is currently working on Mechwarrior Online. The team has announced that this upcoming game will have “intense PvE ‘Mech combat in an immersive, career-based Mercenary campaign driven by player choice.” While you’re going to have to wait a little while in order to get your hands on this game, you can check out the reveal trailer below.

Four more trial Mechs also join the fight, namely the Jenner JR7-F(C), Hunchback HBK-4G, JagerMech JM6-S and Highlander, along with three new cockpit items. If that weren’t enough, you can also personalize the cockpits with statues of Dragon, Awesome and Cicada.

This isn’t including the Buccaneer Premium Pattern which adds, among other things, taunts. Because there’s nothing like goading a mechanized monstrosity while piloting your own mechanized monstrosity.

Check out the official site of the free to play, multiplayer game for more details.

Piranha Games and Infinite Game Publishing have put the Death’s Knell mech into the MechWarrior Online store. The mech is now available and has 176 points of armour and four medium lasers, two in each arm.

Starting today, players will also be greeted by the familiar and long-awaited Bitching Betty startup sequence, “Reactor Online. Sensors Online. Weapons Online. All Systems Nominal.”

The official female cockpit voiceover from the original MechWarrior games first returned to MechWarrior Online late last year, but the famous greeting is newly available, adding another authentic element from the series, which continues to evolve with fun and valuable content updates.

“Whether I choose to pilot a familiar or totally new Mech, such as Death’s Knell, hearing Bitching Betty at the start really brings back fond memories while I get pumped for the action on the battlefield,” said Bryan Ekman, creative director, Piranha Games.

“We are excited to see how players utilize this speedy and deadly Mech, which excels at taking the fight to the enemy, and escaping before they can retaliate.”

Check out the video below.

Forget that it beats out all other Light Mechs, the Spider Mech features eight jumpjets and an awesome turning radius. It might not match the other mechs for firepower but this is a foe that strikes in the heat of battle, when you least expect it.

Along with the Spider Mech, Piranha also introduced the new Decay Target pilot module that helps keep an enemy mech in your sights for about 1.5 to 2 seconds longer.

This week’s patch also includes the Sensor Range pilot module, which increases your sensor range by 15 to 25 percent.

Piranha has also announced a new 3-day in-game event starting January 18th at 10 AM PST, which will run till January 21st, 10 AM PST.

For the first time ever, it will be a Double XP event, and players can even use this to stack other XP boosts and benefits to quickly level through the weekend.

Piranha Games creative director Bryan Ekman stated that, “With the new 8-player group vs. group action and ECM, the competitive element in the game has been upped in a major way. Blending new content with the rich history of the BattleTech universe, we are excited to introduce Ilya Muramets CTF-IM Cataphract, the first PGI-crafted character, a resilient and balanced Hero Mech representing the Capellan Confederation.”

While the electronic counter measures insure that opposing have a hard time both detecting you and getting a missile lock, the Ilya Muramets offers flexibility and durability boasting a good mix of energy and ballistic hard-points. For more information on the newest Hero mech, click here.

This includes the new Cataphract Mech, dubbed the ‘FrankenMech’ due to being constructed from spare parts just lying around. It features plenty of armour and a large punching hand. Because nothing says “A Mech is Punching You in the Face!” like a large punching hand. The Cataphract comes in four variants and even its jump jets for extra maneuverability.

A new environment setting has also been added: The Frozen City at Night where you’ll be tangling with opponents under the cover of darkness. New Modules include the 360 degree Target module, which purportedly keeps the current target on your radar, even if they move behind you (costing 15,000 GXP/6,000,000 C-Bills) and the Sensor Range module, which increases your sensors’ range by 15% (costing 5,000 GXP/2,000,000 C-Bills).

Finally, there’s the Beagle Active Probe which increases sensor range, accrues target data more quickly and can detect shut down mechs at close range (costing 400,000 C-Bills).

Aside from the fact that just about anyone can jump into the open beta and duke it out with giants robots, Mechwarrior Online also features plenty of customization and real-world physics to accompany the mayhem. Check it out below.

Mechwarrior Online is reportedly set “in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war”, where armies settle their differences via robot punches to robot faces. No word on a release date currently, and given how far it’s been pushed back, we probably won’t see it till the beginning of 2013, but time will tell.

The beta for the upcoming MechWarrior Online will be launching next week- on October 16th, to be more precise.  What’s more, members of the Founder’s Program, which ends on October 14, two days prior to the beta’s launch, get a headstart (more details here).

“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all of the fans over the course of our closed beta period,” said Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games. “The amazing fans and the high quality feedback given to our team have helped us craft MechWarrior Online into a true MechWarrior gameplay experience. We’re more than excited to open up the game and look forward to continuing to expand the InnerSphere with our loyal fans.”

MechWarrior Online is scheduled for a launch sometime later this year for the PC, and it’s built on the CryENGINE 3. No release date has been specified yet, but stay tuned, and we will keep you updated.

Armed with eye lasers, arms lasers and a shoulder mounted cannon “so big it blocks your view”, the Hunchback is available for those who seek the Founder’s Package.

There are tons of things the Founder’s Package offers, including immediate beta access and $80 worth of in-game currency. Check out the video for all the details.

In this new developer diary, Piranha Games developers David Bradley, Omid Kiarostami and Paul Inouye gather round to discuss game controls, movement and strategy. Because piloting a mech is only as easy as punching one in the face with your bare hands.

There’s currently no fixed release date but we should see this free to play, downloadable PC title by the end of this year.