Source: GameSpot & SmithAndTinker

FASA, one of my favorite studios of all time, is dead. As a loyal reader of this site, you may know why. The abysmal failure that was Shadowrun.

FASA closed down this September, and for a time any hope I had for some of the great FASA franchises ever (MechWarrior, Crimson Skies, etc.) coming back seemed to be dead too. Microsoft relocated half the staff to other studios and the rest left to make their fortune elsewhere; hopefully far away from anyone who thought Shadowrun’s design was a good idea.

Find out what may rise from FASA’s ashes after the jump!

One of the castoffs, my main man Jordan Weisman (one of the founders of FASA) must have heard my cries of sorrow because he has started his own studio called Smith & Tinker. Not only that, he has purchased the rights to a number of FASA IP’s. Chief among them being MechWarrior and Crimson Skies. Weisman had this to say about the newly acquired properties:

“We’re not quite ready to announce our plans for each property, but please be assured our goal is to surprise and delight old fans, while welcoming new fans into these fantastic worlds.”

While details are still slim when it comes to future plans, my own hopes are high. I played every single MechWarrior title ever released, to the point I have re-purchased some of them more than once over the years. In a year of mergers and takeovers, it’s nice to see a promising new independent pop up. While being a part of a large company has its advantages, the autonomy and the pressure that stems from being independent can really push a development team to produce top notch titles. Let’s see if Smith & Tinker can deliver. I hope so.

For all you MechWarriors out there, I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield as my Timber Wolf armed with four PPC’s carves your Mech into a heaping pile of slag!

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