MechWarrior 5 will receive a final DLC in late January, after which the series will continue with a brand new game that potentially expands on ideas from the current title. A sequel to MechWarrior Online is still in the stars.
One last DLC in January
On January 26th, the fourth and final DLC for MechWarrior 5 will be released. Rise of Rasalhague appears on all platforms and shops where the main game is offered. At a price of around 15 euros, the DLC promises the “Crusader” mech in eleven variants, rivalries with other mercenary squads. When deployed to areas owned by other companies, they may appear on the battlefield and either assist or attempt to thwart the player's mission. In addition, in the new infiltration mission type, objectives must be achieved without raising an alarm.
The DLC also adds a new 12-mission story. It tells how the Republic of Rasalhague fights for its independence from the great houses of the Battletech universe. Players lend a helping hand.
Potentially more single players
Piranha Games is already working on another MechWarrior game in parallel, the studio revealed in the NoGutsNoGalaxy podcast (YouTube). This is not MechWarrior Online 2, reveals studio boss Russ Bullock, but something “more in the way of MechWarrior 5, but as a stand-alone game”. This follows “more of a single player co-op style path”.
If you look at the development of MechWarrior 5, it sounds like a logical progression. Because MechWarrior 5 started with a quite procedurally generated campaign, which was only enriched with “story missions” via DLCs. Bringing this approach further into the spotlight seems logical and fits in with the tradition of the series. There have always been free-mission Mercenaries titles alongside single-player titles that told a story within a classic campaign.
Information that goes beyond what has been said will not be available until the end of the year. The question of the position of the game in the BattleTech era is exciting, since MechWarrior 5 does not yet have any clan technology. The developers only wanted to reveal one thing right now: the game is expected to be finished in 2024. However, a sequel to MechWarrior Online is currently being rejected. The studio is interested, but the license expires in 2025. This leaves too little development time.