Starting today, Hybrid Wars will enter the early stages of sunsetting. Our operatives have taken early retirement and the mechs will be powered down. We want to thank you for your support and believe it’s important to give you this information as soon as possible so you know what’s going on right away.

What does this all mean? Upon the release of this announcement, all items have been removed from sale and the game has been hidden on Steam. As a result, the game support will be shut down by June 30, 2020. However, there is some good news: you’ll still be able to play Hybrid Wars and all additional content will be available for free to all players!

Machines engage!

Controlling fearsome mechs, tanks, helicopters and more to wreak havoc on the battlefield is great fun, and your arsenal of ultimate destruction is about to get bigger! With our newly released first DLC, you have even more possibilities and resources to cause total annihilation! The real bone-crushing is about to begin!

The Free Update contains:
A new Multiplayer Mode: Deathmatch (*)
Join the furious combat with up to 8 players and get dominance points by annihilating your opponents in fast-paced 7 minutes battles!



INFOBOX: (*) This mode is free for all Hybrid Wars owners – all you need to do is update your game.

DLC 1 contains:
A new Character: Yana 'Tesla' Radovich (**)
Yana is the very first female hero in the game. She’s a self-taught genius and one of the best hackers in the world. Getting her hands dirty is not something that she’s afraid of – quite the contrary, her enthusiasm and unorthodox thinking make up for all the skills she lacks. Aside from her exclusive Mech, as well as her drone she boast a special ability that allows them to use a controlled electric discharge to stop enemy vehicles!



INFOBOX: (**) The character needs to be purchased separately, either in the DLC 1 or Season Pass bundle.

Sounds promising, doesn’t it? Well, don’t you hesitate and mech the new DLC out yourself! Here are your options to obtain it:

1. Deluxe Edition + Season Pass (includes the full game; an additional hero, Jason Wood; the original soundtrack and digital art book; as well as two heroes available in the DLCs: Yana 'Tesla' Radovich and Yoko Takano). Get the bundle now on Steam!
   
2. Season Pass (includes Yana 'Tesla' Radovich and the other upcoming hero, Yoko Takano). Get it now on Steam!
   
3. DLC 1 (includes Yana 'Tesla' Radovich). Get it now on Steam!

Machines Engage

Hybrid Wars is locked, loaded, and ready to rekindle your love for chaotic shooters of the ‘90s. Extreme Developers and WG Labs bring you fast and furious action, vibrant open worlds to explore, challenging missions to put your mercenary skills to the test, and a small army of mechs for you to command.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY95L8l8cfo

Hybrid Wars is available in 2 editions: The Standard Edition priced at $17.99, includes the full game, and the character, Alex Carter, a mercenary from a long lineage of distinguished warriors who’s determined to continue his family’s legacy.

The Deluxe Edition is priced at $19.99 and includes the full game. On top of veteran merc Alex Carter, newcomer Jason Wood is ready for action. Jason’s a cybernetically enhanced super-soldier/stunt driver with a quirky little helper droid that’s ready to help him out of any tight scrape. The Deluxe Edition lands with the original Hybrid Wars soundtrack, a rocking blend of epic orchestral guitar work and futuristic synth melodies. Fans also receive the digital art book, where you can explore the history of Jason Wood, and discover the highly detailed world of Hybrid Wars.

Two character DLCs are set to deploy for Hybrid Wars in the coming months, opening up new ways to tackle single-player mode and team up with your brothers-in-arms in multiplayer. The first DLC character is Yana “Tesla” Radovich, a self-taught genius and one of the best hackers out there. She’ll be backed up by the high-level tech-espionage specialist Yoko Takano. Both DLCs will be released in autumn 2016, priced at $4.99 each.

If you want a discount on those aforementioned DLC packs, then the Hybrid Wars Season Pass is for you, retailing at $6.99. You can even enhance the Standard Edition to the Deluxe Edition at any time with the Upgrade DLC. However, if you truly wanted to be suited and booted for merc life, you can grab the Season Pass and the Deluxe Edition through a single gaming bundle for $24.99.

In the future, you can expect additional multiplayer modes in several free post-launch updates. There’s also a bonus for all Hybrid Wars owners that link their Wargaming.net Account: an additional hero, Ivan, as well as 3 days of Premium Account for Wargaming’s “World of…” series of games.

Choose your combat vehicle and start your fight for the future now.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/411540

WG Labs will publish its newest game, Hybrid Wars, September 29, inviting you to stock up on your ‘90s nostalgia for classic top-down shooters, with refreshing twists like open world maps and changing mechs on the fly. With 8 huge locations to explore, 3 diverse mercenaries, over 150 objectives to complete, and multiple game modes, Hybrid Wars immerses you in a future where those with the quickest wits and biggest guns survive.

Available in Standard and Deluxe Editions, step into the shoes of three original characters: Alex Carter (Standard Edition), Ivan (credited to WGN users with the Standard and Deluxe Editions) and Jason Wood (exclusive to Deluxe Edition owners). Alex Carter is a highly acclaimed military specialist outfitted with a personal med drone capable of saving a soldier's life in the field. Ivan is a former mercenary and master of mechs, who has a personal defense drone capable of restoring force fields and supporting soldiers in combat. Jason Wood is the cybernetically enhanced super-soldier with a support drone by his side that can grab resources and transport cargo in combat. Each of Hybrid Wars’ heroes offers you countless ways to capture bases, utilize dozens of upgrades, and use eclectic weapons in a flash, to swing the battle in your favor.

Wreak havoc on robot-kind in two game modes at release: single and multiplayer. Alongside single player, multiplayer coop will be the first mode introduced. Here, up to four players can unite and connect at any time and on any map. Other iterations of multiplayer modes will soon follow and will be absolutely free.

At release, Hybrid Wars will be available in a Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition, priced at $17.99 and $19.99, respectively.

• Deluxe Edition will include the game and three heroes (Alex Carter, Ivan, available for players with a Wargaming.net account, and Jason Wood). Extra content will include: the original Hybrid Wars OST, and a detailed art book where players can explore the history of Jason Wood, and check out concept art and high detail artwork from the game
  
• Standard Edition will include the game and two heroes (Alex Carter, Ivan available for players with a Wargaming.net account)

Экшен-шутер Hybrid Wars, разработанный российской командой Extreme Developers в сотрудничестве с WG Labs, станет доступен 29 сентября. Благодаря использованию вида сверху Hybrid Wars напоминает игры аналогичного жанра из 90-х, при этом ее геймплей привнес в жанр несколько нововведений: открытый мир боевых локаций и возможность менять военные машины прямо во время выполнения миссий. Новый проект дает на выбор восемь огромных карт, трех главных героев, 150 миссий и несколько игровых режимов.
Hybrid Wars будет доступен в стандартном и эксклюзивном изданиях. Состав и стоимость стандартного издания:
• игровой клиент;
• герои Алекс Картер и Иван (доступен игрокам, зарегистрировавшимся под учетной записью Wargaming.net);
Стоимость стандартного издания составит 8,99 долларов.

В состав эксклюзивного издания дополнительно войдут следующие элементы:
• герой Джейсон Вуд;
• оригинальный саундтрек;
• арт-бук.
Стоимость эксклюзивного издания составит 9,99 долларов.

Каждый из трех героев обладает своим набором характеристик и уникальными умениями, получаемыми в процессе прохождения миссий. • Алекс Картер — опытный и уважаемый вояка с уникальным дроном-помощником, вылечивающим солдат на поле боя.
• Иван — бывший наемник и специалист по боевым роботам; его дрон-помощник выполняет функции поддержки, восстанавливая силовое поле хозяина.
• Джейсон Вуд — суперсолдат со вживленными механическими элементами; дрон-помощник Джейсона занимается доставкой ресурсов и вооружения.
Игра войдет в релиз с одиночным и кооперативным многопользовательским режимом. Новые игровые режимы будут бесплатно доступны в рамках последующих обновлений.

Смотреть трейлер

Place of birth: Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia
Age: 34



Ivan keeps the details of his biography to himself, sometimes joking that his family name is too well-known to mention. This has caused a lot of speculation. However, even analysts at Practical Robotics know only that from time to time Ivan visits the last resting place of a group of operatives who worked for one private military company. They all died in a fierce firefight more than five years ago, but it is not even confirmed that Ivan was present at the battle, and if so, which side he was on. All data on the details and goals of that conflict were apparently destroyed by the interested parties. And it seems very unlikely that Ivan will ever speak of it.

Ivan is well-known among the eastern European PMC operatives and their coordinators. Not as a person—no one can boast friendship with him—but as the owner of a unique and very memorable (if one lives through the encounter) exoskeleton. Ivan holds a degree in engineering, and he spent the money from his first mercenary contracts on creating his unique armor. It is specially fitted to his combat style and his favored tactics and strategies. The design of this exoskeleton is of utmost interest to several military hardware manufacturers. However, Ivan steadfastly refuses to reveal his secrets, and no one has ever managed to capture him or his suit in combat.


Four years ago, Ivan moved to the United States and quit his mercenary career for reasons unknown. It is only from this moment forward that information on the "Armored Russian" can be considered factually reliable.

He traded his merc lifestyle for an attempt to enter the world of music. Together with his nephew, Ivan created a punk band, and its first videos quickly attracted the attention of both content aggregator bots and human users. However, appallingly improper lyrics unfortunately thwarted all commercial prospects for the band and scared away large promoter agencies. Social media did not bring much popularity to the band either—automatic censorship systems blocked the provocative content to protect users. Ivan attempted to find ways to reach a wider audience with the help of old-style live performances, but the band kept accumulating debts.

In the end, Ivan was forced to resume his mercenary career—the only way he could raise the money for his music project and break the tether imposed by producers. The Armored Russian was back in the field, and the demand for his services soared. Although major PMCs did not want to risk dealing with such an infamous individual, Practical Robotics was never hampered by bias.

In combat, Ivan displays a unique mix of abilities that leads him to victory. On the one hand, his unpredictability helps him prevail over the programming of enemy robots and drones. On the other hand, his adamant resolve and clever use of intimidation tactics are guaranteed to break the morale of enemy pilots and operators. The Armored Russian has no equal among either men or machines.

Place of birth: Liberty Floating Platform, Pacific Ocean
Age: 29



Jason crashed his first car two weeks after he bought it. His second car was even less lucky—Jason intended to use it for demolition derbies; the car was modified with a custom engine and a reinforced frame. Jason smashed it to smithereens the day after he picked it up from the workshop.
His third crash happened when he was performing exceptionally difficult stunts on a closed track for a video ad. The wreck left Jason’s body as ruined as the car he was in.

By a miracle he survived, but the severe injuries that would have broken any other man only opened new prospects for him. Only a year after the crash, Jason started participating in sports competitions for people with reduced physical abilities.

Jason always took special joy in breaking all limits and restrictions. He cracked speed barriers and expanded the boundaries of human capabilities. He dove deep and climbed high to quench his thirst for adrenaline.
Faced with new restrictions, now of a physical nature, young Wood set a goal of breaking them too. He joined the cyberparalympic movement and volunteered to test and promote numerous cyberprosthetics. The media loved Wood; his blunt charisma earned him millions of fans across the world. He quickly rose to the top as a Paralympian and won the gold medal at the 2052 Games in Mumbai. One year after that, Wood was named "Man of the Year" by Transhumanist magazine. The cover of the magazine featured a photo of Jason outfitted with cutting-edge experimental prosthetics.



These prosthetics served as a foundation for his new grand project. Jason spent all his money earned from sports and endorsements on this untested hardware and the surgeries required to implant it. The rest of the financing was provided by medical device manufacturers—Jason Wood was a brand ambassador and a talisman of sorts for them. If Wood used something, it meant that the technology could withstand the most extreme conditions and load.

His "new body" fully restored his physical abilities and unlocked the door to his next career. Jason completed a combat training course in virtual reality and became a mercenary. Now he effortlessly combines military contracts with advertising ones. An online audience of fans track Wood’s progress as he takes breakneck risks, tackles impossible tasks, and keeps smiling. He compensates for his lack of real combat experience with valor and rapid decision-making, which is further enhanced by cyberneural implants.
However, advertising and private military contracts are not everything Jason Woods dreams about. He plans to get filthy rich—then he will be able to stage any stunts he wishes, not needing to rely on sponsors. Then he intends to spend the rest of his time wallowing in money and pleasures, in vain attempts to burn through his enormous fortune.


JASON WOOD's WIKI

Place of birth: Wisconsin, USA
Age: 38



A brilliant military career was predestined for Alex before he was even born into the world. Six generations of his family were army officers, which guaranteed that the next Carter in the family line would receive invitations to top schools, academies, and education programs. His parents had the money and the influence to ensure their son got the best training possible. With the help of multimedia courses, Alex started learning the basics of warfare in early childhood, and his family made sure that the boy had unrestricted access to various military vehicles during his summer breaks. When Alex enrolled at the most prestigious military academy, the walls of the common room in his residence hall were decorated with portraits of his grandfather and great-grandfather, among others. When he graduated with honors, he could have used his connections to get into virtually any specialty and unit in the U.S. Army.

During his service, he demonstrated both a dazzling intelligence and the Carters’ intractable nature. He was forced to follow a prevailing doctrine that was cautious and conservative, constricting his abilities. He discovered that his superior officers always took much greater interest in brokering lucrative military contracts and playing shady political games than in developing new methods of warfare. Army officers rarely engaged in actual combat in the field. It began to drive Alex mad. In the 20th century, Carters had fought in Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, and Kuwait. In the 21st century, his grandfather had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his father had fought in the Battle of London and served on peacekeeping missions in southeast Africa. Alex would have to content himself with remote coordination of drones and oversight of private military companies. He had to tackle trivial tasks in ways that were long predetermined for him. Time and again, Alex saw more effective solutions than those stated in his orders, and he never hesitated to question his superiors when he felt he was right.



His intellectual potential cried out for proper application, and soon Alex became incredibly popular as an online commentator of broadcasts from various flashpoints. His restrained language and deep tactical analysis distinguished him from a multitude of other military reviewers, and soon the insight of his observations evoked a wave of viral publicity for him. A number of his policy recommendations greatly affected the community of military theorists. Finally Alex decided to capitalize on the reputation of his family and embark on the path to become one of the leading theorists of warfare. But he collided with the conservatism of mainstream thought yet again. His proposed combat strategy centered on the ultimate fusion of technology, training, and individual initiative—dubbed the One Man Army concept—was never treated with due seriousness. Alex had to prove again and again that he was not just another short-lived media sensation, but a highly competent specialist.

Practical confirmation of the Carter’s theories would require both financial and engineering support. For a long time, no company would agree to create a combat exoskeleton according to his specifications. When Practical Robotics offered assistance, Alex did not hesitate.

He abandoned his official military career without any regrets and became a mercenary. Alex is certain that participation in real combat—and the attention of the media—will take him farther than any academic achievements.


ALEX CARTER's WIKI

PART 3/3

One by one, networks are covering our world: first the transport networks, then the energy networks, and finally—the information networks. With each passing year, they become more indispensible, more prevalent, more integrated and less noticeable. They cover the Earth in a transparent cocoon, watching us from above with a thousand eyes, and creeping silently under our feet with millions of hidden cables. Inside this cocoon, the awkward caterpillar of old geopolitical divisions is evolving into a new world order butterfly. It remains to be seen if this butterfly is beautiful or not.

The top of the world's food chain still belongs to powerful nation states and their military-political power bases. These superpowers are engaged in a vast geopolitical game of maintaining spheres of influence, obtaining natural resources, and cultivating the brightest minds.

A distinctive feature (and advantage) of a superpower in this new world is self-sufficiency. In particular, self-sufficiency in war, where those who rule have the ability to acquire and endlessly produce a full range of armament. The greatest military blocs naturally possess weapons of mass destruction. Each of these large countries has its own internal and external intelligence service, deep ocean navy, armed space forces, and advanced ballistic missile defense systems. Though lesser, ordinary countries have both manned and unmanned combat and transport aviation, the big game is played only by those who have such advantages as high altitude-hypersonic bombers, cruise missiles, and combat walkers—the new elite of modern warfare.

Some of these states have been accumulating and upgrading their arsenals for generations, while others have rapidly built their armaments and weapons more recently during the recent decade in order to protect their interests.

How do superpowers oppose each other? First of all, they favor conducting covert or low intensity operations. Traditional wars have been replaced with so-called "hybrid conflicts" that take place without formal declarations of war, and are implemented simultaneously across information networks, through the stock markets, and, finally, on battlefields. The latter involves private military companies who contract both mercenaries and professional soldiers. These combat personnel are officially listed as volunteers who "rent" their combat vehicles from the client state.

Of course, superpowers do have the right to declare total war against each other, but the ruling elite find this a pointless act. There is no sense in putting their territory, population, and vitally important infrastructure at risk if the conflict can be resolved elsewhere, far from your own borders. There is no point in managing every component of warfare, especially if this job can be done by automatic electronic expert systems. Yesterday these analytical systems were used to trade precious metals at stock exchanges, today they design plans for the hostile acquisition of metal deposit ownership. These systems do not care whether there is a military component attached to the plans, and few would care if it did.



The United Nations continues to exist, although it dismissed its Security Council due to the constant mutual "vetoes" of the permanent members. The organization was nearly disbanded, but was preserved by powerful non-superpower players who had their own reasons to act via the UN. Countries belonging to what was once known as the "Third World" managed to increase the power and prestige of the UN beyond even its status at the dawn of the century. As a result, UN peacekeepers (Blue Helmets) have become increasingly active all over the world.

Relations between the UN and the superpowers are quite complicated, and have included armed clashes between peacekeepers and mercenaries. Nevertheless, the UN remains an important security force and mediator in negotiations. It reserves the ideological right to speak on behalf of humanity and has the power to declare certain political regimes or movements as enemies of the international community. It can be said that the UN plays the same mediating role that the Christian church played between kingdoms in medieval Europe.

However, a territory and a national flag is no guarantee of security or sovereignty. The only real players that can match the superpowers in terms of financial and military capabilities are the multinational mega-corporations. Among other methods, these corporations profit from asset allocation and research projects in territories that are out of the jurisdiction of large states. These corporations seek profits from conflicts waged among the superpowers; they serve only their own interests, and maintain highly trained and equipped security forces that can match the strongest of armies.

Development of the oceans, near-Earth space, and the never ending search for new frontiers—these are the highest priorities among the various private corporations.

PART 2/3

The armed forces of nation states still resemble armies of the 20th century in structure and organization. This is true for both the superpowers and smaller states. However, local conflicts are now mostly resolved by private military companies (PMC).

The history of such private military companies is quite long. The first mention of commercial military organizations participating in local conflicts, and unofficially using the latest military prototypes, were first noted in the first decade of the 21st century. Within the following ten to fifteen years, outdated weaponry and machines were retired from military service due to generational change of equipment and the accelerated pace of technological advancement. These older vehicles were sold to private parties that served the interests of particular states. What is particularly important, they were the first to test prototypes of experimental combat walkers under field conditions.

As a result, the "equipment for loyalty" formula came into existence. Private military companies gained access to combat technologies (first with assembled machines, later with preassembled units, and 3D schematic drawings), and client states received feedback on the use of these vehicles in battle against similar armament used by potential enemies. The feedback collected in the field was complemented with the users' suggestions on further improvements. In this way, the leading states obtained experienced professional operators of modern machines, who were not bound by the restrictions of official military protocol.

A private military company in the middle of the 21st century had a budget, commander, and permanent staff. Commanders of most PMCs personally participate in operations using a command tank, combat walker, helicopter, or warship, depending on their personal preferences. These commanders are masters of warfare, tacticians, and aces. Many of them are tested veterans with over twenty years of combat experience.

The main strike force of a PMC is comprised of manned combat vehicles that are organized into squadrons and are supported by robots and drones. All manned machines are usually modified and improved to match their operators and their tactical objectives. The machines bear war paint and other individual marks, since every warrior has an insignia or badge of valor. The companies also have additional squads of autonomous and remotely controlled machines for reconnaissance, patrol, seizure, and defense of territories. They are usually followed by a control vehicle, engineer vehicles, mobile servers for conducting informational war and, if the company can afford it, by repair vehicles to restore damaged heavy machines.



Operators or pilots—those who personally operate machines in battle—are a minority among company personnel, who are mostly engineers, medics, programmers, drivers, accountants, and lawyers. In any case, the number of personnel in a PMC is considerably lower than the number of autonomous machines. By the standards of the 20th century, the battle group of a PMC is both a very small battle unit, since it includes only a few fully-featured combat machines, and a quite large one when judged by its fire power, its ability to manage and control territory, its own energy resources, AA defense systems, and transport, aviation, and repair-production capabilities.

PMCs are quite autonomous and can be quickly transferred to any location of the world using its global information systems, its vast resources, and its energy networks. PMC mercenary soldiers typically fight against the armed forces of low-level, less advanced regional players, or against other mercenaries. Since mercenaries usually oppose each other in territories of other states, in relatively bloodless conflicts, with little or no ideological loyalties, a sort of honor code naturally formed within their "society." The circle of military professionals is quite narrow; one way or another they all know each other from social networks or shared experience. For example, no one shoots at pilots who have ejected from a damaged machine. Pilots are not expendable, while drones are both cheap and numerous. There are also rules regarding prisoners and even the buying-out of restorable machines left in territories seized by the enemy.

Of course, long-lasting vendettas between some companies may occur; such conflicts continue until the complete destruction of the enemy. Also, there are those "outlaws" who ignore all rules and are treated by others in kind.

Since the forces of the opponents are usually similar and the big players behind the conflict do not want unneeded escalation, the hostilities often become formal competitions where each opponent tries to cause only enough damage to allow the opponent to make an honorable retreat.

These rules and codes of honor have resulted in the current stagnation of the PMC's ability to conduct true warfare, despite the fact that, unlike national armies, private military companies are constantly participating in wars. The PMC is a phenomenon caused by the first phase of the new technological revolution; it is said that the world will be shocked by the second phase. As it has happened many times throughout the history, the age of the ordinary mercenary is drawing to a close. What will fill its place remains to be seen...and perhaps to be feared.

TO BE CONTINUED...