Catalyst Game Labs has begun publishing Battletech and Shadowrun roleplaying products under license from WizKids, LLC.  That license had previously been held by FanPro (see, for example, 'FanPro Plans Six Books').  Catalyst is an imprint of InMediaRes Production, LLC, which had previously held a license to publish online Battletech fiction at its site Battlecorps.com.  This spring, Catalyst stepped in when FanPro had problems, according to a Catalyst spokesperson, and its first releases under the new license, one Shadowrun and one Battletech product, were sold at Origins. 

FanPro had certainly not been feeding the market sufficient quantities of its products in recent times; retailers and distributors frequently observed to us that they could sell a lot more Battletech and Shadowrun RPG products if they were available.  Catalyst is promising to keep its products in print and available. 

Seven Catalyst products, two Shadowrun releases and five for Battletech, were on sale at GenCon.  The first two releases are now available through distributors, the remaining five are now making their way into distribution and will be released to the trade soon.

The GenCon releases currently headed for distributors are Shadowrun Augmentation, the hardcover core rulebook ($34.99); Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set ($39.99); Battletech Starterbook: Sword and Dragon ($19.99); Battletech Total Warfare, the full color hardcover reprinting of the core rules ($39.99); and Battletech TechManual, the full color hardcover construction rules ($39.99). 

Shadowrun Emergence, the plot sourcebook ($24.99) and Battletech Technical Readout:  3050 Upgrade ($34.99) are out now. 

Fall releases will include a new printing of Shadowrun, 4th Edition, and Battletech Jihad Hot Spots:  3072.