BattleTech is now officially one of the biggest names in tabletop gaming

In the world of tabletop games, we don’t often get definitive sales numbers, but when we do, it’s because a publisher has something to boast about. Catalyst Game Labs’ BattleTech line had a damn good 2022… and a pretty good 2021 and 2019 too. 2018 wasn’t bad either, as it turned out. In fact, at the current sales rate, the publisher will have sold a few by mid-summer 2023 9 million little plastic mech miniatures since conceiving his brand new line of sculptures in 2015. BattleTech is back and the next expansion will start crowdfunding soon.

BattleTech began as Jordan Weisman and L. Ross Babcock’s miniature wargame in 1984 before morphing into a tabletop role-playing game, video game franchise, and goal before the VR arcade experience. Catalyst took the reins of tabletop gaming a few years later and relaunched the line in 2015.

“That meant completely new, ready-to-play, high-quality plastics – and a complete redesign of the core products to achieve this quality,” he said BattleTech Tabletop blog team wrote wrote on January 2nd. “These have been a hit from the moment they became available in January 2018; Pre-order sales were so high that we started the second printing before the first even hit the market. The seventh printing of A game of armored combat and the eighth printing of the beginner box were loaded onto ships at the end of 2022 and once they go on s ale, 160,000 copies will have been launched between these two boxes in four years.”

Since then the line has been expanded. First came the ForcePacks – individually wrapped sets of four to six miniatures. Catalyst has sold half a million of these, plus another 160,000 of the follow-up mercenary-themed packs. It is BattleTech: Clan Invasion

Kickstarter raised a staggering $2.5 million in 2020, making it one of the top 10 most funded tabletop games on the platform this year. Then the alpha strike Boxset landed at Gen Con 2022, with another 30,000 copies sold in the first few runs. Overall, the company expects to have sold about 9 million 28mm miniatures by mid-summer.

Why was Catalyst so successful? Having a healthy relationship with his peers in the video game space helps tremendously. Fantasy plans BattleTech The turn-based strategy game remains a fixture in the video game industry’s top 10 lists, and its lifespan far exceeds even the developers’ own wishes thanks to several outstanding fan modifications. Meanwhile, Piranha Games’ MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries had a mediocre start but was successful with subsequent expansions. The next entry – Rise of Rasalhague – is due this month.

Most importantly, the three companies are sharing resources, including artists, to create a cohesive and thematically consistent set of mech sculpts across all of its incarnations. Are you enjoying your test drive in first-person or isometric mode? Why not buy your own and paint it your way?

Image: Catalyst Game Labs

Catalyst has its own expansion plans. The company says an upcoming crowdfunding campaign will unlock 50 new designs, including an expanded range of plastic tanks and aircraft. The campaign will start during AdeptiCon 2023 this spring.

“By every metric, BattleTech is now more successful and popular than ever,” said Catalyst. “With the upcoming Mercenaries Kickstarter and the run-up to BattleTech‘s 40th anniversary there is an excellent chance that our current overwhelming success will be eclipsed BattleTech reaches even more fans.”