Even with my bad case of battle royale fatigue, this upcoming mecha game's 60-person battle royale/extraction shooter hybrid mode sounds pretty sick

Mech in dry dock with person standing on catwalk underneath
(Image credit: Amazing Seasun)

We weren't quite sure what to make of Mecha Break when it was unveiled at last year's Game Awards⁠—is this a story-heavy challenger to Armored Core's throne, or something else entirely? After a gameplay reveal earlier this year and a conversation through a translator with developer Amazing Seasun's CEO, Kris Kwok, I got the skinny on a much weirder game, one that's pairing tight team-based shooter modes with a take on battle royale that, despite my fatigue from the genre, definitely has my interest.

There are also more classic competitive modes, which we've seen in action via an IGN gameplay reveal in January and streams of a closed alpha from last month⁠—Armored Core YouTuber FightinCowboy has a good 30 minute VOD of gameplay to give you an idea of how it plays. While the size and speed of the mechs is front and center, the other main gameplay touchstone is hero shooters like Overwatch. 

While you'll be able to customize your mechs, Kwok made it sound like individual part choice will be less impactful than it is in games like AC6, MechWarrior 5, or Brigador, with a focus on recognizable heroic archetypes⁠—Kwok cited "chivalric knight" and "shinobi" as examples of the flavors of mech on offer. Seasun seems particularly concerned with mech balance, with Kwok saying that testing and balance tweaking usually takes "twice as long" as setting a new mech's art and design.

Kwok described Mecha Break as having "asymmetric" balance. "Our understanding of balance is that it doesn't mean we have to make each mecha as strong as each other," he said."The real balance is that we want to make sure each mech is taking a proper tactical position, and make sure that they create synergy as a whole, and then provide a dynamic balance experience to our players."

That certainly calls to mind Overwatch for me, while Kwok's primary inspiration from the mecha side of things is definitely the Gundam series, with a number of models decorating the Seasun conference room the studio head talked to me from. 

That inspiration reflects in Mecha Break's pace of play: it looks slightly slower than Armored Core 6, and definitely nowhere near 2006's blazingly fast AC4, but Mecha Break is still a much faster game than the more sluggish Armored Core 5 or the tactical chunk of the MechWarrior series. With Gundam hero shooter Evolution having been shuttered shortly after launch, there doesn't seem to be anything quite like Mecha Break on the market.

And speaking of things unique on the market, Mecha Break's PvEvP mode sounded genuinely intriguing to me, even as a skeptic of all things battle royale and most things extraction shooter. Kwok described it as involving up to 60 players in a map comparable in size to that of Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. It'll feature that classic battle royale slowly shrinking play field, but also NPC interactions and boss fights.

The real kicker is its extraction mechanic: you'll be able to leave a match early via set escape points, similar to those in extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov. Kwok presented this as a lower pressure, less competitive way for players to engage with the mode.

Mecha Break's combination of mechs, hero shooter, and battle royale/extraction makes for a heady combination, and while it does not yet have a release date, there's another opportunity to try it out like last month's alpha coming up. Mecha Break's closed beta will run from April 26 to 29, and you can sign up for a chance to check it out via Amazing Seasun's recruitment survey

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
Mecha Break promotional screenshot
Mecha Break could be the big multiplayer mech game you've been waiting for—if you can stomach the monetization
Mech in dry dock with person standing on catwalk underneath
How long can a live service game last? Theoretically, 'forever,' says Mecha Break developer: 'The last game I was in charge of has been alive and well for 16 years'
A half-ruined giant robot rises from wreckage. An image from the cinematic trailer for mecha strategy RPG Mecharashi.
If you're a fan of giant robots I urge you to watch the Mecharashi cinematic trailer
steel hunters
There's a free beta on for the mech game by the World of Tanks creators
Exoborne parachuting
In the middle of the LA fires, I played a new extraction shooter that challenged me to survive angry robots, other players, and planet-destroying climate change
Exoborne promo image - guy wearing power armor and a baseball cap, packing a big gun, charging a church or something
Vertical extraction shooter Exoborne holds its first playtest soon, and you can sign up now
Latest in Third Person Shooter
Titus in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 reveal promo image
Praise be to the Omnissiah! Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 is officially in development
Marvel Rivals characters - Captain America running towards the camera.
All Marvel Rivals characters - current and upcoming heroes
Marvel Rivals Human Torch
Marvel Rivals is carrying on the tradition of chaotic patches after buffing two of the most annoying heroes, but I main one of them, so I'm not complaining
Mech in dry dock with person standing on catwalk underneath
How long can a live service game last? Theoretically, 'forever,' says Mecha Break developer: 'The last game I was in charge of has been alive and well for 16 years'
A player character with an ominous mask
The Forever Winter, my favourite extraction shooter, just overhauled its most contentious feature for the second time: 'It was a hell of a rollercoaster to make the adjustment'
Marvel Rivals crosshairs - Star-Lord flying up towards the camera with his guns at the ready.
Best Marvel Rivals crosshairs and reticle codes
Latest in News
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 image - Henry riding a pink and blue striped horse while holding a fish
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 now has Steam Workshop support, and of course one of the first mods lets you adjust the 'jiggle physics'
Still image of Bastion holding a bird, taken from Microsoft's Copilot for Gaming reveal trailer
Microsoft unveils Copilot for Gaming, an AI-powered 'ultimate gaming sidekick' that will let you talk to your console so you don't have to talk to your friends
Erenshor - A player and two simulated MMO party members stand on a plateau in front of a yellow landscape
This RuneScape-looking 'simulated MMORPG' has all the nostalgia without the drama because all the other 'players' are NPCs
Pirate Bay co-founder Carl Lundstrom
Pirate Bay co-founder and far-right politician found dead after plane crash
Sunset in the desert in Hello Sunshine
Hello Sunshine is a desert survival sandbox where you live in the literal shadow of the colossus
Roblox CEO David Baszucki.
'Don't let your kids be on Roblox', Roblox CEO tells parents, before comparing himself to Walt Disney and declaring the platform 'the future of communication'