Russ Bullock, the president of Piranha Games, has announced on his official Twitter account that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries' release date has been postponed until 2019, citing the studio's wish to deliver the best experience as the reason.
Bullock didn't specify the exact release date, but noted it will be announced on MechCon 2019 which will take place on 01 December 2018. He also mentioned that MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is the first MechWarrior game since 2002 that will feature single player experience. According to Bullock, the the official reason why the game is being delayed until 2019 is that Piranha Games want to deliver a proper, finished product.
While delays are bad, unfinished games are worse and this appears to be the foundation to Bullock's tweet, but he also mentions that this change in release date will add more reasons for fans to visit MechCon in December. He also that he is confident that Piranha Games will receive "100 per cent support from MechWarrior fans to release the best product possible".
My cynical sense is tingling warning about a possible attempt to draw more visitors to the MechCon 2018. This would also make sense since it's hard to imagine an event topping showmatch from last year. To that end, Bullock promised a "robust and unforgettable" MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries hands-on demo that will happen during the event.
Either way, there is no knowing when the game might be released until December 2019. Needless to say, fans are by no means pleased with this announcement, with some of them in December 2018 in order to have more time to play the game.
Piranha Games
Other fans whose plans have not been ruined are more supportive though, as they would rather wait a little longer to get a polished game. In all honesty it's not that bad, as people have waited for five years to get another trailer for Cyberpunk 2077 and the game still doesn't even have an indication of when it might get released.
