Classic Battletech
''Classic BattleTech'' is a table-top wargame set in the fictional ''BattleTech'' universe that simulates combat between futuristic mechanized forces. Originally published by FASA Corporation, the game is now produced by Catalyst Game Labs unde ...
'' fiction from WizKids in the fall of 2003. They made an announcement that year at
GenCon
Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...
36 and had their full website, BattleCorps.com, ready to go a year later in August 2004. InMediaRes kicked things off with the fiction of founders Bills and Coleman, and from there, month-by-month they continued with their electronic delivery model. InMediaRes announced their plans to create a similar "Holostreets" web site for ''
Shadowrun
''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime fiction, crime, with ...
'' fiction in 2005 but have not done so. Some of the fiction from the BattleCorps website has made it to print as ''Battletech Corps Vol. 1: The Corps'' (2008) and ''Battletech Corps Vol. 2: First Strike'' (2010) – following some changes to InMediaRes' licence in 2007 and 2008.
In 2007, Rob Boyle and Bills tried to buy FanPro LLC from Fantasy Productions, and when that did not work out WizKids stepped in to mediate; although they were not willing to let Boyle and Bills create a new company, they were willing to give the ''Battletech'' and ''Shadowrun'' licenses to InMediaRes. After acquiring the rights to both
FASA
Fasa ( fa, فسا, Fasā, also Romanized as Fassa) is a city and capital of Fasa County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 110,825, in 33,379 families. Fasa is the fourth most populous city of the province. The city date ...
games, InMediaRes took on Boyle and Bills as regular staff – which had been part of the agreement with WizKids. Boyle remained as the ''Shadowrun'' Line Editor for the next few years, while Bills became a Managing Director of InMediaRes. InMediaRes created a subsidiary to hold their new gaming rights:
Catalyst Game Labs
Catalyst Game Labs (CGL) was created in May 2007 by InMediaRes Productions, LLC for the purpose of publishing print ''Shadowrun'' and ''Classic BattleTech'' sourcebooks. InMediaRes placed a higher value on electronic material, and in 2007 started charging for Catalyst's ''Shadowrun'' releases.
Company information
InMediaRes Productions was founded in 2003 by
Loren
Loren is a given name, nickname and surname which may refer to:
Given name Men
* Loren Acton (born 1936), American physicist and astronaut
* Loren C. Ball (born 1948), amateur astronomer who has discovered more than 100 asteroids
* Loren M. Ber ...
and Heather Coleman, Tara and Randall N. Bills and Philip DeLuca with the express purpose of licensing the rights to publish new, canon Classic ''
BattleTech
''BattleTech'' is a wargaming and military science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2001, which was in turn acquired by Topps in 2003; and published since 2007 by Catalyst Game Labs. The tradema ...
'' fiction to the Internet from WizKids. Wizkids granted this license to IMR in the fall of 2003, which directly led to the creation of BattleCorps in August 2004. In 2005, IMR announced its intentions to branch out into ''
Shadowrun
''Shadowrun'' is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic in fiction, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime fiction, crime, with ...
'' fiction and established Holostreets with the intention of doing for ''Shadowrun'' what had been done for ''BattleTech''. IMR hopes to have Holostreets up and running by 2008.
On April 20, 2007, IMR announced that it was in negotiations with WizKids and FanPro to acquire the licenses for ''Classic BattleTech'' and ''Shadowrun'', as FanPro's licenses were set to expire. On May 17, 2007, IMR announced the creation of