Five years later, a new Hawken is coming to PC
Hawken is coming back to PC. Five years after the first game stacked up the chairs, turned out the lights, and switched off the servers for its PC version(opens in new tab), Hawken Reborn is a free to play «revitalization of the long and beloved Mech combat franchise» from 505 Games that's set to hit Steam early access(opens in new tab) on May 17.
It's a bit of a pivot, too. While the original Hawken was a multiplayer, PvP affair that saw you pilot your 20-foot steel contraptions across a variety of game modes, Hawken Reborn will be a purely single-player experience when it releases, with a co-op multiplayer mode «planned for a later date».
«By going PvE, it lowers the barrier to entry a little bit with people who might see a PvP game and get discouraged, just because they think they don't have the skill set needed to come in,» said senior producer Brian Decker when I asked about the shift to single player, so 505 is «focusing on the PvE, the narrative, the world,» at least for now.
«There is something very engaging about playing games, especially mech games, with other people,» Decker acknowledged, «So the co-op is our sort of chance to tick that box … to let you enjoy the experience with your friends» and show off the various lethal and cosmetic doodads you've affixed to your mech to someone other than the game's NPCs. 505 says it's «open to other features and systems down the road,» too, so it's possible multiplayer modes like Deathmatch, Missile Assault and Siege will return someday. «The sky's the limit on what's to come,» said Decker.
But at launch, Hawken Reborn will have nine weapons, six missions, five mechs, and one player, with more of each to come as the game progresses along its early access development
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