BattleTech, the turned-based tactical strategy mech game, is available for free via Steam for this weekend only. The game’s developer, Harebrained Schemes’ announced the free weekend deal on Twitter early this morning. Since its release in April 2018, BattleTech has received strong post-release support from the developer with a string of updates to refine the gameplay. It has also gotten its first of three planned major DLC expansion packs, Flashpoint.
Players will have the option to purchase BattleTech at a discounted rate this weekend too, with the base game being sold at 40 percent off and the Digital Deluxe Edition at 50 percent discount. If you want a season pass, however, you’ll need to fork out a little more for the Mercenary Collection edition of the game, which is currently discounted by 20 percent until February 26.
BattleTech began life as a table-top strategy game back in 1984 but Shadowrun developer Harebrained Schemes turned the popular title into a PC game with the help of its original creator Jordan Weisman. Sharing the same setting as the first tabletop edition of the game, BattleTech sees you assume the role of a mercenary caught in the middle of a far-flung 3025 war between noble houses.
In order to fight in this war, you’ll need to take command of Battlemechs, gigantic fighting machines which are being lost in great numbers thanks to the conflict. The gameplay is loosely based on the table-top version, though the rules of the original have been ditched in favor of a more modern gaming experience.
BattleTech was received well by critics at the time of its release and was even progressive enoough to include non-binary pronouns. The game netted several award nominations at various gaming award shows for its strategy mechanics.
You can head on over to Steam to jump into the action and grab your free copy.
