Hawken launch delayed to early 2013; open beta hits December 12

Free-to-play multiplayer mech game Hawken has had its official launch delayed until early 2013, instead opting to go to open beta on the originally scheduled release date of December 12. In anticipation of the open beta, it will be closing its Vanguard Initiative pre-sales tomorrow.

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Free-to-play multiplayer mech game Hawken has had its official launch delayed until early 2013, instead opting to go to open beta on the originally scheduled release date of December 12. In anticipation of the open beta, it will be closing its Vanguard Initiative pre-sales tomorrow.

"The timing has changed," a representative for publisher Meteor Entertainment said. "Prior, the development team had not given themselves Open Beta timeframes so [they] have adjusted accordingly. Launch is slated for early 2013."

Developer Adhesive Games has already held several closed betas for the game and has gotten plenty of feedback, but it plans to use the open beta to continue to polish the game. "We have so much more to add to Hawken, lots of features, balance changes, and improvements." said lead animator and Adhesive co-founder Chris Lalli. "The Open Beta Event allows us flexibility to roll out these updates in waves, and get instant player feedback that will influence the final version of the game."

Players hoping to get some early perks can still get in on pre-sales by dropping from $5 to $60 on various packs. But you'll need to grab them before noon PT tomorrow. Players who already purchased an Ensign pack or above will get the Cupcake mech when the open beta begins.

Contributing Editor
From The Chatty
  • reply
    December 5, 2012 10:00 AM

    John Keefer posted a new article, Hawken launch delayed to early 2013; open beta hits December 12.

    Free-to-play multiplayer mech game Hawken has had its official launch delayed until early 2013, instead opting to go to open beta on the originally scheduled release date of December 12. In anticipation of the open beta, it will be closing its Vanguard Initiative pre-sales tomorrow.

    • reply
      December 5, 2012 12:02 PM

      Are they going to slow this game down a touch? I felt it was way too twitchy the last time I played it - felt more like a floatier version of Unreal Tournament than a Mech game. Which in itself isn't bad, but... when I want to play Unreal, I'll play Unreal, not something that's just 'pretending' to be a giant robot game on the surface.

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        December 5, 2012 12:47 PM

        I hope they slow it down kind of feels lose and floaty when playing sort of like you are in control of a Mech as heavy as a balloon.

        The game is not bad but due to how it plays it got boring so fast in the beta it was not funny mostly since the simple play style became pick light pick flak or mini flak and own every one in 2-3 hits or be killed by it.

        The balance when i quit the beta was lights OP the Med and Heavy useless as lights with mini/flak was the only way to play as both Med/Heavy was to slow to counter them and even with the slightly higher hp no match.

        This might be out of date since not played since closed beta so take it at what it is a simple view of the closed beta.

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          December 5, 2012 1:04 PM

          I agree, the generic "run around and kill things really fast" mentality was sort of a turn-off in the beta - and I saw a bit of the same balancing concerns too. I haven't played it for a couple of months though so I'm really hoping they've juiced it up for more recent builds.

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        December 5, 2012 3:54 PM

        Try Mechwarrior Online, it has more giant robots per square foot.

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          December 5, 2012 5:36 PM

          Oh I have, believe me - I'm in love with the pacing, the cockpit detail, and the whole giant robot "feel". I am disappointed in the lackluster joystick support (I keep my Saitek x52 around for a reason god damnit) and that it turned into an online competitive-only affair instead of the singleplayer / co-op driven project it was originally supposed to be (MW5). Seems there's just no winning these days...

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      December 5, 2012 1:36 PM

      This game looks awesome but the online game play it the same old... I really wish they would make some sort of single player game out of it.

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