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[Nine-Ball]

In short, include MWO2 with MW6.

MW6 will function as the single player campaign/unlimited sandbox ala MW5.

MWO2 will be the multiplayer portion of the game -- which can allow co-op for MW6 singleplayer. The bread and butter will essentially be a redone MWO using MW6 assets sized, tweaked and hard-pointed to focus on the new faction play which includes all the small craft and fixed emplacements in MW6 single player. Yes, they will be piloted by AI bots.

Using a redone procedural map generation from MW5 can offer a near unlimited variety of maps to be generated for players to engage in a mix of PVP and PVE via faction play. A redone tactical screen or one designed for both SP and MP can help facilitate the contracts offered for mercenary factions or missions for house/clan factions. Instead of only mechs to worry about you'll have fixed emplacements, tanks, vtols, artillery, airstrikes... the works.

Quickplay would still offer up ye olde classic MWO "deathmatch" along with (hopefully) a way to add more than two teams so Solaris would be able to offer up its own set of matches designed around a free for all (24 mechs enter, 1 mech leaves).

Regardless, the brunt of the focus would fall onto faction play and utilizing MW6 as a means to offer something more then simple mech on mech combat.

Player Units/Companies/whatever would be able to fund their own base, upgrade it and expand their influence across the stars. However they can and will be subjected to raids or hostile take-overs akin to metal gear solid 5. But more formalized so both sides have a chance to muster their forces for a good fight. Home turf advantage and all that so combined with the procedural map generation (still debating on when it should be done -- at base creation or invasion) means such endevours will be multi-layered battles from initial touchdown to demolishing or taking over the base. There would naturally need to be some design consideration surrounding costs incurred for lost or destroyed equipment so players/units don't go broke but at the same time having some tangible cost so the stakes are higher.

Stealing a page from Armored Core -- custom banners/insignas for your outfit, along with custom paint-schemes. Sure you could nickle and dime the playerbase for them but such a feature for MWO2 faction play from the onset would go a long way into enticing people to band together if only for the drip.

You can get your money elsewhere by pulling a Paradox Interactive by then rolling out the several dozen DLCs that could be aimed at both sides of the coin. New mechs, biomes, mission types, campaigns, music, Ducan Fisher voice overs, whatever.

As mentioned before, PVP and PVE can be available for faction play. PVP is already listed above, but PVE can also be done using the single player mission generator. It could be used as both another training tool for newer players to learn the ropes against AI opposition while also allowing them to help contribute to their Unit via a percentage of money earned from the mission being given to the Unit (so if you earn 3 million for the mission the Unit will get 300k as well). This could also be tied into the PVP portion as well via missions designed for lights to scout and figure out targets and where the enemy has their defences placed.

The reason for the push for a more indepth and layered faction play via improved map choice and introduction of small vehicles and craft (among other things) would be to emphasis more "role playing" and hopefully less "boat gun" -- maybe a more uniformed or planned team approach to mech building to deal with threats beyond a mech rush. Big slow assault team? Get punished by artillery. Light zerg rush? Get whittled down by small craft. Nothing but brawlers? Get smashed from range. You can leave that stuff to the Solaris games.

Would it be hard? Well yeah, and that would be its own niche beyond its already niche giant stompy mech shooty game, and it would fufill it well. Give us sweatlords the sweaty mech game we crave along with the non-sweats the chance to join in the fun with a variety of game modes beyond what MWO originally offers.

Potential Gamemodes on offer:

Quickplay
(domination, capture, assault, skirmish)
Solaris
(Free for all, team free for all (4v4v4v4v4v4), 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, etc)
Faction Play
(PVP faction play, PVE faction play)
Free Play
(Essentially setting up your own custom game whether its PVP or PVE)

I suppose one way you could look at it would be MW6 singe player is just MWO2 without PVP, and MWO2 multiplayer is just MW6 with PVP.

[Nine-Ball]

Another issue in regards to this would be the timeline.

Should faction play and by extention MW6+MWO2 diverge and have its own player-led timeline (ie: retcon dark age out of existence), or should it follow a pre-set pattern with DLC signaling significant changes to the timeline?

If you ask me, the players should be leading the charge along with a helping hand by the devs to steer conflict between factions cause inner-sphere shenanigans. The blakists didn't nuke everything to the dark age, rather the player driven battles would accomplish such a feat instead. The devs could act as the power brokers who control each individual faction while the players are the tip of the spear, the shaft and the, uh... end?

If enough planets change hands or significant events happen as driven by the players, the power brokers (the devs), could reflect this. Clan Uber Smoked Jade Shark conquers the entire innersphere? Have the most decorated units honored for all time, write fluff about them. Then start insurrections and and the general breakdown of the empire. Oh no it turns out the your faction leader is Amaris the 2nd. Whoops. Well, not as evil though I doubt any modern IP wants to deal with... all that again.

And in all honesty why not? It might be a hard sell to justify a multi-verse in mechwarrior, but it could also be used as a means to further distance itself from Battletech and the tabletop ruleset.