Giant robots are always hip, and today MechWarrior Online publisher Infinite Game Publishing provided more evidence to support that claim.
More than 1.1 million players have registered to play the game during its open-beta phase, according to IGP. During that time, those robot warriors played a total of 9.6 million hours, demolished 46 million mechs, and fired more than 12.6 billion missiles.
MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play team-based shooter. Players can buy mechs with in-game currency or they can use real money to rare suits.
IGP and developer Piranha Games aren’t going to slow down their lumbering bipedal tanks now. MechWarrior Online will shed its “beta” designation later this year when the full 1.0 version launches Sept. 17.
“We are focused on the two key groups, the core players that have supported us throughout the entire process and the new players who have not heard of the game yet,” IGP head of publishing Kelly Zmak told GamesBeat. “For the Core, more features and content around the lore and cannon are being added constantly. Every two weeks the game changes with even more advanced game play features and social elements. For the new user, [we made] a new tutorial system and easy entry features — and, for both groups, [we are adding] a new user interface and more ways to interact with each other.”
Beyond the launch of 1.0, Piranha is working on more content. The developer is preparing more mechs, more maps, and more features constantly.
Zmak says that getting to this point was tough, but it’s IGP’s partnership with Piranha that made it possible.
“Piranha is a partner, not a hired developer,” he said. “They understand the game better than anyone and they have great instincts. We support them and they support us in the ecosystem of F2P. It has been great working with them, and I believe it is an effective model with continued proven success for both IGP and Piranha.”