baɪ ˈeɪpɹəl twˈɛnti tˈuː, tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈɛn mˈaɪkɹəsˌɑːft hæd klˈɪɹd ɪts fɹˈiː ɹᵻlˈiːs ænd ˌɔn ˈeɪpɹəl θˈɜːɾi, mˈɛtʃ wˈɔːɹɪɚ fˈoːɹ: mˈɜːsənˌɛɹiz wʌz ɹᵻlˈiːst tə ðə dʒˈɛnɚɹəl pˈʌblɪk baɪ mˈɛk tˈɛk æz ɐ fɹˈiː dˈaʊnloʊd.
By April 22, 2010 Microsoft had cleared its free release and on April 30, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries was released to the general public by MekTek as a free download.