The giant mech franchise made popular by video games in the nineties is under significant scrutiny for an allegedly toxic effort to stray from its source material. A push into modern issues has resulted in a community of fans who are not keen on the way the franchise is being led.
The MechWarrior franchise is a saga of video games, board games, and more, set in a science fiction universe where players command giant robots (mechs) in various forms of combat. The franchise is rooted in the BattleTech universe, a richly detailed sci-fi setting created by FASA Corporation in 1984. MechWarrior’s compelling blend of tactical depth, futuristic storytelling, and complex mech customization has captivated fans for decades, evolving through multiple video games, novels, and even a television series. The franchise officially began with the release of the first video game in 1989, but its roots extend back to the BattleTech tabletop game. BattleTech provided a detailed universe, complete with its own lore encompassing feudal political structures, interstellar warfare, and the MechWarrior pilots who piloted the enormous battle mechs. This game was set in the 31st century and featured a galaxy-wide conflict involving noble houses and mercenary corporations, fighting for supremacy using these massive mechanical war machines.
Today, however, the brand is embroiled in tremendous controversy stemming from an effort by community managers, apparently, to filter the franchise through the lens of modern sociopolitical issues. Some might call these issues “woke”.
As a result, Classic World of Warcraft team lead, Mark Kern, has spoken out about the issue in a series of long-form posts on 𝕏.
According to Kern:
Yesterday Battletech publisher @catalystgamelab community managers FREAK OUT and MASS BLOCK many Battletech fans, including @DriveThruRPGcreator and @The_OtterPops in blind rage. This is the sad tale of Battletech’s descent into madness: – Firing conservative authors – Defending violent “woke” contributors – Defending doxing contractors – Hostile takeover of the Battletech subreddit – Takeover of the Demo Team Discord – Woke Community manager running Amok! Thanks to @Mage_Leader and @RAZ0RFIST for their insights and permission to post screencaps of their videos as we dive into this DUMPSTER FIRE in the Battletech community.
The controversies in Battletech were re-ignited when emails with Catalyst Labs customer support team leaked. I spoke to community members who said that former Battletech author and Demo Team member Robin (who also goes by Valk), had been threatening people for the past year including gun violence, and by doxing a community member by posting a google map of their home. The email was sent by someone concerned with this behavior. Catalyst Community Managers responded by immediately Mass Blocking anyone who talked about it and anyone remotely related to them in a guilt by association PURGE. No one has any idea why Catalyst initiated a purge, but it wasn’t their first, and it hit many innocent non-participants like OtterPops. OtterPops immediately withdrew all his support for Battletech, including over 160 podcasts and game design material. Catalyst seems to be actively trying to hide any involvement with this former contractor and is silencing anyone talking about it. But the story goes back much further, as the community has been on fire with complaints about Catalyst’s extreme left leaning politics for the past year.
Catalyst is the current licensor of the Battletech tabletop game owned by Topps, which they licensed in 2007. Original team members from Battletech, such as authors Mike Stackpole @MikeStackpole and Blaine Pardoe @bpardoe870 generated excitement as they joined Catalyst to continue the legacy. But the authors were at odds as Mike is left-leaning while Blaine is a conservative, both active in politics on social media. In 2022, Blaine had a well known issue with a Battletech fan named (at the time), Faith McClosky, a extreme leftist pretending to be a lesbian single mother of three children. Faith repeatedly tried cancel Blaine from Battletech, and stalked and harassed him, even threatening violence. The issue was severe enough that Blaine had to seek a restraining order against Faith. But when Catalyst decided to publish a short story by Faith, the community exploded, angry that they would publish someone who had gone after Blaine. Topps ordered Catalyst to “handle it” and they did. In July 2022, they fired Blaine Pardoe. But they kept his leftist stalker, Faith, as a published author… This obvious injustice further inflamed the Battletech community, a smoldering fire that would burst into flames 6 months later.
They turned Mechwarrior gay!
Yesterday Battletech publisher @catalystgamelab community managers FREAK OUT and MASS BLOCK many Battletech fans, including @DriveThruRPGcreator @The_OtterPops in blind rage.
This is the sad tale of Battletech’s descent into madness:
– Firing… pic.twitter.com/mfIYkVTJlW
— Grummz (@Grummz) April 18, 2024
The movement by the Battletech / Mechwarrior brand into this space follows in the pattern of a number of video game properties doing the same. Earlier today, That Park Place reported on collaborations between Pokémon Go and Sweet Baby Inc: a consultation company embroiled in controversy over strongarm DEI efforts.
As more information is made public regarding this concern, we will continue to cover the ongoing battle for the fate and future of video game franchises!
For all the news that should be fun, keep reading That Park Place.
