{"product_id":"battletech-core-rulebook","title":"BattleTech Core Rulebook (pre-order, expected for release end of August 2026)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBuilding on the critical and commercial success of the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleMech Manual\u003c\/em\u003e, a half-year of public playtesting brought forth the most cohesive, approachable, and dynamic set of rules for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eever: the new\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCore Rulebook\u003c\/em\u003e. Thanks to the support of the Catalyst Demo Team Agents and the wider\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecommunity, the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCore Rulebook\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ealso contains a comprehensive Missions section: a shared, fundamental framework allowing players to easily create a huge variety of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003egames. This flexible toolbox allows for everything from quick pick-up games to epic clashes, and makes it easy for anyone—from the newest players to grizzled veterans—to build a force, choose a mission, grab some miniatures and start rolling dice!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCore Rules Changes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter six months, five playtest packets, and thousands of hours of playtesting, we’ve finalized the\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech Core Rules Changes\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003edocument,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/battletech.com\/coreproducts\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewhich you can find here\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, alongside a review and reflection on this process from developer Keith Hann. We can’t thank our fabulous, worldwide community enough for their expertise, enthusiasm, and time as we developed this new rulebook and box sets. Thank you!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs always, existing\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003emapsheets,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eTechnical Readouts\u003c\/em\u003e, and all models remain fully compatible with the new Core Rulebook. Additionally, of the thousands of ’Mech record sheet variants published over the past forty years, less than .05% required a small tweak (just those for units which have Watchdog CEWS or Bombast Lasers). Odds are that you’ll never see an existing record sheet that’s not fully compatible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor the first time in more than thirty years, a new\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech Starter Box\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCore Box\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eCore Rulebook\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewere developed simultaneously for a joint release in August 2026. In preparation for this refit, Catalyst ran the largest public playtest in\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e’s four-decade history, ensuring all revisions to our game of heavy metal mayhem were well-honed and battle-tested.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile rules changes were made to improve the tabletop experience, this is not a new edition of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e. As always,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eBattleTech\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eremains remarkably the same as when it first appeared in 1985’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eSecond Edition\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003eboxed set.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalyst Game Labs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58286880653693,"sku":"CAT37101","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1380\/9101\/files\/battletech-core-rulebook-2026-PRE.png?v=1781533368","url":"https:\/\/leisuregames.com\/products\/battletech-core-rulebook","provider":"Leisure Games","version":"1.0","type":"link"}