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BattleTech developer Hairbrained Schemes is working on a new horror game

New job listings on the BattleTech developer's website point to a focus on the horror genre for one of their upcoming unannounced projects.

TJ Denzer

March 4, 2020 9:39 AM

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BattleTech and Shadowrun RPG developer Hairbrained Schemes has something new up its sleeves and they’re looking for some new staff in pursuing it. The studio has recently posted some listing and the details seem to specify that it’s for an unannounced horror game.

Recently, Hairbrained Schemes posted listing for Art Director and Lead Game Designer on the Hairbrained Schemes Careers page. Both of these managerial roles feature a similar note. It will be for work on an “unannounced horror project.” Hairbrained Schemes also announced the job listings on its Twitter, which led to fans speculating as to if it might be a new Shadowrun game or perhaps a return to the darker-themed Necropolis. That said, Hairbrained Schemes Co-Founder and Producer Mitch Gitelman came out with a video on February 11, 2020 announcing that Hairbrained’s next projects would be all-new ventures following the completion of BattleTech DLC, updates, and content.

It’s interesting to consider what Hairbrained Schemes might have planned as far as a new IP goes. The studio found themselves a wealth of resources when they were picked up by gaming giant Paradox Interactive back in 2018 to the tune of $7.5 million. The studio has since launched and supported BattleTech with DLC and updates throughout the last two years. The game itself has done quite well, and also sees new content through the aid of mod support that was launched in late 2019. Hairbrained Schemes will continue to update BattleTech with patches, but it looks like they’re also ready to go all-in on their new projects.

There’s no telling what a new horror IP from Hairbrained Schemes will look like as of yet, and we likely won’t see it for a while given that Art Director and Lead Game Designer are pretty central roles to the shape, feel, and look of a game. That said, we imagine Hairbrained’s focus on a “horror project” means they must have a little something planned. We look forward to seeing what their new horror IP ends up being.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.