Mech Shooter ‘Hawken’ Gets New Publisher And Fixes

IN PHOTO: A man plays a computer game at an internet cafe in Beijing May 9, 2014. As growing numbers of young people in China immerse themselves in the cyber world, spending hours playing games online, worried parents are increasingly turning to boot camps to crush addiction. Military-style boot camps, designed to wean young people off their addiction to the internet, number as many as 250 in China alone. Picture taken May 9, 2014. Reuters

After almost a full year of silence from its original owner Meteor Entertainment, it has been revealed that “Hawken” will now be under video game publisher Reloaded Games. The free-to-play PC shooter had been quiet for sometime now, with many fans fearing that the game would be coming to an end, but Reloaded Games has assured many that “Hawken” is here to stay.

The news was broken on the official “Hawken” Facebook page where Reloaded Games not only announced the company’s acquisition of the franchise, but also stated that the various complaints of “Hawken” will be fixed. This includes fixing the password reset that has been plaguing gamers, along with bringing back user forums and “development stuff.”

"It's a seriously great honor to be a part of the Hawken story, and I want to see it thrive." Wrote producer Joshua Clausen of Reloaded Games' parent company K2 Network on the Facebook page.

Clausen also stated that more details regarding the future of “Hawken” with Reloaded Games will be discussed when the official “Hawken” forums return. Given that one of the things the developer is working on are planned updates and changes, fans can expect something along those lines to be announced, among other things.

The first-person shooter had an open beta that was launched in 2012 before transitioning to Steam via Early Access last year. According to Gamespot, “Hawken” is also one of the few games to support the virtual reality headset known as the Oculus Rift.

It appears that the lack of “Hawken” updates from original publisher Meteor Entertainment was due to the publisher closing its offices in Seattle last year, before moving into its current Los Angeles based studio. Mark Long, the former CEO of Meteor, would then step down from his position sometime after the move was made.

That being said, it appears not everyone is happy with Reloaded Games acquiring “Hawken.” A lengthy post on Reddit has stated that Reloaded Games doesn’t always fulfill promises made to gamers and that money is the biggest concern to the company. Still, given that new content could be on the way, it seems that “Hawken” fans can finally play the game with purpose again.

Contact Writer at: n.parungo@ibtimes.com.au