Meanwhile, for as massive of a misstep that they made by firing Blain Pardoe, Catalyst Games Lab has been handling the Battletech/Mechwarrior franchise surprisingly well. Because at the same time GW was squashing their fan animations, CGL took the creator of a popular fan series and had him help with their newest game, or at least on the trailer. As well as canonizing the character and micronation of one of their most popular community members ("Tex" of the Black Pants Legion, with his character Randolph P. Checkers of Van Zandt).