Despite keeping the MechWarrior 5 name, Clans will be a completely standalone title that makes use of of the core gameplay of its namesake. It will, however, feature a more focused, linear campaign that tells the story of Clan Smoke Jaguar, and will be set in the year 3050 during a conflict known as the Clan Invasion.

MechWarrior 5: Clans will have quite a bit of focus on its story, which will take players across a variety of planets featuring hand-crafted maps and missions. There will be a host of new customisable Clan Mechs. The game follows the exploits of an elite five-mech squad of rookie pilots.

Gameplay in MechWarrior 5: Clans will hang on to the simulation-styled mechanics of its predecessor, while at the same time introducing new progression and customisation systems for pilots to tinker around with in an updated Mech lab with the new Hardpoint and Omnipod systems.

The blog post details that MechWarrior 5‘s console port will include some fan-requested quality-of-life features, as well as support for adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. Furthermore, the launch of the game is accompanied by a new expansion called Heroes of the Inner Sphere.

The port took over a year to develop, and fan expectations are naturally high with this one. MechWarrior 5 received acclaim with its PC release, so it wouldn’t exactly be a surprise if the console version also manages to garner the same acclaim. A point worth mentioning here is that the game’s PC and Xbox versions are already available on Xbox Game Pass, while PlayStation players are expected to be paying a full price for the game.

This 5-minute long developer segment goes in-depth about what makes Mech Warrior 5: Mercenaries‘ combat click, and how the developers managed to create the combat thoughtful and strategic. Unlike most games on show for the event, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries has been out for roughly 2 years at this point in time.

Multiple updates and a Heroes of the Inner Sphere DLC have kept the community alive by providing new content. Mech Warrior has been a long staple of PC gaming, and the developer segment is a way to celebrate the franchise and its community. There are a whole lot more announcements coming your way, so stay tuned.

Microsoft has revealed the next wave of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for May with SnowRunner being out today for consoles, PC and the cloud. May 20th sees Peggle 2, EA’s colorful puzzle game, and Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville available for the cloud. Both titles require EA Play (available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate) to play.

Secret Neighbor is out on the same but there’s also The Wild at Heart, an action adventure which sees two kids venturing into the Deep Woods, gathering Spritelings, and taking on twisted foes. The latter will be available for console and PC subscribers. On May 21st, EA’s Knockout City will be available on Xbox Game Pass for PC and EA Play.

May 25th sees the release of Maneater for console, cloud and PC subscribers while Conan Exiles arrives for consoles and the cloud on May 27th. Fuzion Frenzy, Joy Ride Turbo and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries are all out for consoles on the same day. Meanwhile, PC subscribers get Slime Rancher and Solasta: Crown of the Magister, the latter being an RPG in the vein of old-school, tabletop titles. SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest rounds out the selection of titles for May.

The following titles will also be leaving Xbox Game Pass on May 31st:

• Assetto Corsa (Cloud and Console)
• Broforce (PC)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5+2.5 Remix (Console)
• Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (Console)
• Surviving Mars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Void Bastards (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Big old robots, everyone loves them, and we don’t get much of them nowadays. 2019’s MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries brought back the classic franchise. Overall, we found it a pretty decent romp and return for the mecha series. The game originally launched as an exclusive to the Epic Games Store on PC and then was added to Game Pass on PC. It was never specified how long that exclusive period would be, but now, we know.

Publisher Sold Out and developer Piranha Games announced that the game would be coming to other storefront over 1 year later in May. It will launch for two new PC storefronts: Steam and GOG. It’ll also come down to consoles with a port for both Xbox One and the Xbox Series consoles. The new versions will coincide with Heroes of the Innersphere, the major DLC for the title, that will take the hulking war machines to space.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is available now on PC via the Epic Games Store and the Window Store. It will launch for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Steam and GOG on May 27th.

After launching exclusively for the Epic Games Store on PC last year, Piranha Games’ MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries will be releasing for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. The mech combat title is slated to arrive in Spring 2021 for Microsoft’s consoles. However, it will also become available on Steam, the Microsoft Store and GOG.

The studio also confirmed that the Heroes of the Inner Sphere DLC would be releasing in Spring 2021 instead of December 10th. “Along with the Xbox release, this delay will allow us some additional opportunities that will benefit the game, as well as the MechWarrior community at large. First and foremost, the combined release on Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, and Xbox consoles will give us more exposure and a broader reach than we’ve ever had before.”

To that end, fans can expect quality of life improvements for the AI, art and user interface along with new career modes and some tweaks to the campaign. All this is made possible thanks to the studio’s recent acquisition by Enad Global 7 which allows for more resources. MechWarriors 5: Mercenaries received a mixed response due to a number of bugs and other issues plaguing the release. Hopefully, the additional time and resources allows for more polish.

For more details on the base game, check out our review here.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, the latest game in the long running mech series, came out earlier this year. Those looking for that classic robot on robot action were mostly satisfied, but the game had plans to release DLC post-launch back in April, but had to push that back. Now, we get our first look at the upcoming DLC, called Heroes of the Inner Sphere.

Part of the reason for the delay was apparently to expand the scope of the DLC, and it shows in this new trailer. The DLC will take us to the moon with a new biome, and as you’d expect, a ton of new mechs including Corsair, Champion, Dervish, Charger, Hatamoto-Chi, Vulcan, and Marauder II. It will also feature a new career mode that you can start over from scratch or upload your progress from the main game, new career paths, hero missions and tons of new equipment and weapons. Check it out below.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is available now on PC, and unfortunately, no date is given for Heroes of the Inner Sphere. You can read our full review through here.

The latest entry in the long running giant robot series, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries blasted onto the scene at the beginning of 2020. While it had its fair share of issues here and there, it was a solidly built title much like the mechas you get to control (you can see our full review of the game through here). Despite the powerful and loud clank of metal the game is all about, it also proved to be very sneaky as it was quietly added to Game Pass today.

With no announcement or fanfare, the game appeared on the Microsoft Store, of which you can see the listing here, and it is available on Game Pass. Talk about a stealth mission. You can also purchase it in at full if you wish. As of now that makes the game available both here and on Epic Games Store, though no word just yet when it will launch elsewhere.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is available now exclusively on PC.

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries came out with all the promised big robot action we’ve come to expect from the legendary series. It has a solid foundation, even if there’s a lot of flaws (you can read our take on the game through here). If you’re looking for more, though, there’s good news, as DLC is planned to come soon.

In a developer update video, which you can see below, Piranha Games’ Russ Bullock says they are planning to drop DLC in April. There’s not a lot of specifics, but he does say that one part of the planned post-launch content is having a more robust “freeform” career mode, meaning you can have a mode that’s more free-roaming than the current system, which funnels you into missions more frequently than some want, and will not be as restrictive as the current reputation system. Of course, more mechs, weapons, and mission will also be part of any DLC going forward. No more mention was made about a potential VR version of the game.

MechWarrior 5: Mercanaries is available now on PC. We’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available, so stay tuned.

The year is 3015, and conflicts have erupted within the Inner Sphere, a piece of space dominated by colonized planets. These tribulations have called for contracts to hire mercenaries to do the dirty work, for conflict zones have disturbed the peace among the people. After a devastating attack on a friendly base, you will rise from the rubble of trouble and make your way across stars to take up objectives and fight off the opposing forces wreaking havoc on the people.

"MechWarrior 5 is a blast for fans who are familiar with the mechanics and music of mech combat- but for any player looking for something fresh to try out this winter season, this title might not suit your fancy for various reasons."

Piloting your gigantic mech amid the war-ridden battlegrounds is an invigorating treat, even for someone who isn’t too accustomed to mech simulators. The very act of entering a BattleMech and gunning out copters, tanks, and other enemy mechs makes the game feel fresh and alive, especially with the have AI pilots fighting alongside you and help you unleash more chaos on foes. Though the overall gameplay experience can get stale after a while, with 51 different types of BattleMechs featured in the game to customize a great deal,  there is at least some variety and freedom for player expression.

There’s also a pretty neat and simple economy system in place, which sees players working out their funds to adjust expenditures such as space travel fees, salaries for crew members, negotiating for contracts to progress the campaign, all while also coming up with a way to plan out future trips and missions without going broke in the middle of space. It works well and it gives the game another layer to work with when managing your supplies and mechs.

The main narrative that serves as the backdrop for MechWarrior 5 sees you stepping into the shoes of a commander of a mercenary company, and it is up to you to oversee the progress and growth of this company, as you travel across planets and take on jobs from those that seek assistance against enemy attacks. Sadly though, that’s all there is to it. From there, you accept contracts and talk to a few NPCs, and there’s some cursory story stuff here and there, but for the most part, MechWarrior 5 is largely concerned with getting you to customize and mess about with your stored BattleMechs and then take them out into the field to cause some mayhem.

And even though it helps that you can hire AI pilots – who help spice up the adventure aspect of space warfare – ultimately, none of the objectives handed by the game really have any heart to them. It’s a case of style-over-substance, with not much heart being put into the story, and it seems to mostly just be there as a backdrop for the action. It’s not a terrible flaw, but it adds to the repetitive nature of accepting a contract, going on that mission, and taking what you get from either a successful win or an agitating death or failure.

"It’s a case of style-over-substance, with not much heart being put into the story, and it seems to mostly just be there as a backdrop for the action."

Where MechWarrior 5 doesn’t falter is with its soundtrack and sound design. The OST is an odd mix of synth piano keys and guitar riffs, and it’s strangely fitting for this particular title. There’s the distinctive synth loop that can be heard throughout the game, and to complement that the intense percussions, which, when, played during intense combat sequences, certainly ratchet up the atmosphere.

All the machine gun and missile firing sounds loud, just as it should, and as you’re stomping through environments in your mech suit, the sound design contributes a great deal toward lending that much more authenticity to all the carnage you’re unleashing with your weapons. Shooting down a gunship and watching it burst into flames while your allies destroy any straggling enemies, with guitar riffs blasting in your headphones in the background, is as fun as it sounds. These moments are the purest essence of the game, and without a doubt the highlight of the experience.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the graphics of the game, the frame-rate tends to drop when the action is getting too hectic during combat, such as when too many explosions or destructive effects are being show on-screen. Performance issues aside though, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries looks pretty good, with gorgeous environments that look even more detailed and beautiful through the first person cockpit PoV. Each biome and location feels unique in its presentation, to the extent that during my playthrough, I was almost reluctant to switch to third person view and possibly miss out on all the details. With a nice infusion of old school inspiration with modern visionary, MechWarrior 5 achieves an interesting visual aesthetic- it’s just a shame that it’s often let down in combat by the aforementioned frame-rate dips.

"With a nice infusion of old school inspiration with modern visionary, MechWarrior 5 achieves an interesting visual aesthetic- it’s just a shame that it’s often let down in combat by the aforementioned frame-rate dips."

For those looking for replayability in MechWarrior 5, something that will come in very handy is the Instant Action mode. Instant Action allows youto generate you own scenarios with different biomes and game types to fit to your liking, within the game’s given parameters. With other players and/or AI pilots, you can select any mech of your choosing to bring into battle- and you just go from there. From the smashing insanity of Demolition to the track-and-kill objectives of Assassination, when played online, MechWarrior 5 transforms into a sandbox mech shooter that can potentially deliver a lot of enjoyment.

While Instant Action can uplift the replay value of the game though, the slow progression of the single player experience is enough to turn one away from the repetitive nature that comes with the title. The story doesn’t do enough to make you care, and though customization and combat are fun, other issues like frame-rate drops or the repetitive mission design hurt the game a great deal. For fans of pure mech action, there’s enjoyment to be found in MechWarrior 5, but by and large, this is a game with a lot of unresolved issues that ultimately hold it back from being anything more than passingly fun.

This game was reviewed on the PC.