Now coming to general release, prepare yourself for the new BattleTech: Core Rulebook!
This awesome tome provides you with everything you need to enter the battlefields of the 31st century and beyond. For fans of BattleTech: Total Warfare and the BattleMech Manual, you will find a lot to love here. This book is the culmination of a massive effort on the part of Keith “Xotl” Hann and the rest of the BattleTech team, along with an outpouring of community input and relentless playtesting. Featuring updated formatting for easy comprehension and rules updates, the Core Rulebook is ready to take you deep into the best game of armored combat!
You can find more information about the Core Rulebook with Keith’s article “Further Notes on the Core Rulebook.” There, Keith gives some insight on the development process, the levels of play, and how the team worked the story of BattleTech into the book without detracting from rules development. It is a fantastic read if you are curious about how game development works.
This thick tome is over 270 pages and covers everything you need to fire up your ‘Mechs and get them onto the battlefield. The rules have been structured for ease of comprehension and quick reference at the table, allowing you to follow the phases of combat from Movement to Heat. Each chapter is packed with new illustrations and diagrams to show how these rules work to help ease newer players into them, and to give veterans a quick refresher. Terrain effects and battlefield conditions have been reengineered for maximum playability, and allow you to spice up your game easily, from icy tundras to the confines of urban warfare.
Later chapters cover the use of Battlefield Support rules, the all-new AeroSpace support rules, and the definitions and workings of various types of weapons and equipment. However, the most exciting chapter for me is the final one, Missions. This chapter goes into detail about how to build and play out various mission types and is great for hosting a random game night with friends, crafting an upcoming narrative campaign, or to change up battle rounds in a tournament setting. There is a LOT to dig into with the Missions section, and it will easily remix even a basic death match-style of game!
The BattleTech: Core Rulebook will be made available on the Catalyst webstore and at your local game store starting on September 30th, 2026!
We’ll see you on the field, MechWarrior.
- Meical Kingfisher, Catalyst Marketing Manager
