As drastically as any jump in technology for the BattleTech series of video games, MechWarrior Online by PGI has brought an extreme increase in graphics while still holding strong to the gameplay roots established in many of the MechWarrior games. MechWarrior Online forgoes the story and brings an online only gaming experience with stunning visuals and outstanding gameplay. In this, the latest BattleTech game, a player is allowed to choose their own fate selecting between four factions, four clans, or simply participating as a mercenary. Once a player has selected they are given options to work in tandem with other players to capture planets and gain territory for their faction. Due to the teamwork aspect some have stated that MWO is “The thinking man’s FPS.” This author's first hand knowledge can attest to this quote due to his experience with FPS games. The extreme requirement for teamwork between twelve man teams require players not only to have knowledge of how to play the game but also how to configure their Mechs to their most useful abilities. This is not the first multiplayer BattleTech game although it is by far the largest due to its freemium model. Unlike many Free-to-Play games, MWO is neither pay to play nor pay to win.

Players are given specific restrictions that can be forgone by simply playing the game to earn achievements or in-game credit. As many freemium games certain options that have no aspect on the gameplay at all such as colorful skins require the purchase of in-game “premium” points. Recently released on the Steam Marketplace, MWO has seen a large surge increasing both the quality of the game as well as the strength of competition, something that was lacking from most other MWO games.

With the surge in new players we are very excited to announce, in collaboration with Clan Wolf International and Piranha Games Incorporated, GameTyrant will be broadcasting our first MWO tournament on the 26th of March, 2016. This tournament will feature $250 in prizes and include 16 teams from 8 major organizations including the game creators themselves. The competition will be broadcast on the GameTyrant Twitch and YouTube channels starting at 1:00 pm EST (1800 GMT) with the finals expected to be at approximately 5:00 pm EST (2300 GMT). As with all new games and tournaments we will be judging the success of this game and the chance to continue with more future tournaments by those showing in attendance, therefore we ask if you are interested please invite your friends and we can work to make this competition a more regular occurrence as well as potentially opening the competition and increasing the prize pools.