Dreamhaven announced a partnership with development studio Game River to publish the competitive auto battler, Mechabellum.
The sci-fi mech game has realistic graphics where you give marching orders to your forces and then they execute your commands in an auto battler. It looks like a real-time strategy game, but you can pause to think after each turn, said Mike Morhaime, CEO of Dreamhaven in an interview with GamesBeat.
To commemorate the partnership, Dreamhaven and Game River today launched the Mechabellum Premium Edition, offering commanders over 18 exclusive skins, unique avatars, and special emoticons. It so happens that Game River’s title was an undiscovered gem, and Dreamhaven is giving it a second chance. The trailer looks pretty awesome, but I’m very intrigued about how the strategy will play out.
You can purchase the Mechabellum Standard Edition now for $15 or the Mechabellum Premium
Edition for $30 on Steam. New players can check out Mechabellum during the Steam Free to Play Weekend, April 4 to April 8, 2025.
The news was revealed during the Dreamhaven Showcase presented by The Game Awards.
A second chance
Mike Morhaime said that Mechabellum is a turn-based game with one-versus-one multiplayer. Players make choices about how to spend their resources and place their units on the battlefield. Once you do that, you get to see the results of the battle. Then a new round of fighting begins and the players square off again in an ongoing turn-based battle.
Mike Morhaime said, “A lot of people have fallen in love with this game because it captures all the strategic depth of the things we love about real-time strategy without the actions-per-minute (APM) requirement,” he said.
That means you don’t need to be a masterful juggler with great dexterity to play the game in real time.
Amy Morhaime, cofounder of Dreamhaven, said the team discovered the game in early access after members of the StarCraft community reached out to them. It only had a single review, but it was at 90 out of 100. Mechabellum’s creator, Game River in China, was in another publishing deal, but then it got out of it and Dreamhaven agreed to republish the game with more fanfare behind it.
“We love watching pros play these RTS games because there is a strategic side of those games that we never really get to see because we’re always fighting the micro, tactical side of the game,” Mike Morhaime said.
It’s designed for everybody, but older players like me in particular can have a chance because the fighting isn’t all about how many units you can control at once in a given minute.
More details
Inspired by classic real-time strategy games, Mechabellum tasks players with commanding a mech army to defeat tens of thousands of real players across the globe. Select from an extensive array of battle-ready mechs equipped with distinct capabilities and tactical advantages. Customize units, position them strategically, and work to predict–or counter–the opponent’s moves. Success depends on outsmarting or outmaneuvering the opposition.
“With Dreamhaven’s support, we’re focused on refining Mechabellum’s content roadmap for 2025 and beyond. Our commanders can look forward to the addition of new units, starting specialists, tech upgrades, and much more in the coming months,” said Wen Youge, CEO and founder of Game River, in a statement. “We look forward to a bright future in partnership with Dreamhaven.”
“Game River has created one of the most tactically-rich and strategically-deep auto battlers on the market with Mechabellum,” said Mike Morhaime. “I am a proud, avid player. It’s one of the best games developed in the last decade, and we believe people will be playing even a decade from now.”
Mechabellum features
● Strategic Depth: Decision-making and tactical gameplay are at the heart of each battle. Focus on unit positioning, counters, army composition, and fighting as a team–without micro-management. Deploy, adapt, overcome.
● Build the Perfect Army: From agile Crawlers to imposing giant Fortresses, every mech serves a specific purpose on the battlefield. Learn the strengths and weaknesses of a large number of unique units. Customize them and their abilities before and during battles to maximize destructive power.
● Infinite Possibilities On the Battlefield: Enjoy the game in intense 1v1 duels, strategic 2v2 team battles, or free-for-all mode where anything goes. Turn a losing battle into victory by calling down the perfectly placed airstrike, or spread chaos by calling in a horde of crawler bots in the midst of your enemy’s army. Stop by the unit workshop between matches to refine army load-outs, access new technologies, and develop advanced tactics.
● Robust Tournament Tools and Replay System: Take control of past battles to examine precise moments and explore alternative strategies. Players can hone their skills against top competitors through tournament ladders and use the innovative replay system to study matches.
Game River is an independent game development studio focused on original, passion-driven projects that drive meaningful player interaction. Founded in 2017, Game River has grown from two friends in a living room to a team of over 10 developers who thrive on collaboration and creativity. The studio has won numerous awards, including IndieCade’s Developers Choice Award, IndiePlay’s Best Innovation Award, and IndieCamp’s Best Game Winner.
“There are two different types of Mechabellum players: those who know it and love it and those who have never heard about it. If you play a couple hours, then you’re pretty much in there for life,” said Amy Morhaime, cofounder of Dreamhaven, in an interview with GamesBeat.
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