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With Revenge of Cronos only a qualified success, Bandai decided to tread more carefully for 1988, with a smaller line and a shorter Anime. Buchigirii Battle Hackers, or just Battle Hackers, was again commissioned from Ashi Studios. However, on this occasion Bandai co-operated more closely with the studio, who designed the newer characters. These characters were then made into toys by Bandai. The new series was 31 episodes long, and ran from June 3rd, 1987 through December 30th 1987.

The plot of the Anime was unconnected to Revenge of Cronos, instead focusing on the efforts of the Battle Hackers, a group of Machine Robo trying to protect the planet B-1 from Gurendos space gang. The main Battle Hackers were leader R.JeTan (a triple changing character, getting his name from his modes of robot, jet and tank), Garzack (R. JeTan's 2nd in command), Mach Blaster (a triple changer with jet and gun alternate modes) and Drill Crusher (whose alternate modes were a drill tank and a rhinoceros - his overall look owes a little to Drill Robo/Rod Drill).

With the exception of the non-transforming Garzack (who didn't receive a toy), they all had new figures designed for the line. Other new toys were the Riser suits, seen in Revenge of Cronos and used here by the Battle Hackers' human allies (Akira Amachi piloting the Jet Riser; Luke Stewart piloting the Battle Riser; Zen Ogawa piloting the Power Riser). A new combiner, Gattai Saurer, was also made. Other featured characters included the Wheelmen, carried over from the tail end of Revenge of Cronos, and the Winner Robo. The latter were new figures, around the same size as '600 Series' toys, but with spring-operated transformations. The Winner Robo received a new playset, Roboshooter Gaiden, that fired the figures in their vehicle modes. There were no toys produced for the Gurendos faction - not a massive surprise, as villains have never sold well in Japan - although the Anime did feature the already-released Devil Satan 6 combiner set.

The line was not a success. Most of the figures were large and expensive, and sales were poor. The Anime seems to have been poorly received and is hardly remembered compared to its' predecessor. Like Transformers, Machine Robo's star was quickly waning in Japan. The Winner Robo would be the last Machine Robo figures issued (a planned ninth figure was never released) in the 1980s before the line was cancelled by Bandai. As hardly anything from the line made it out in the West (the only import was Gattai Saurer, slated for the Rock Lords line as Fossilsaurus, but only eventually briefly emerging as part of Robo Machine in Europe), and the Anime is a rarity (possibly never being released on laserdisc, let alone DVD), Battle Hackers is a somewhat forgotten part of Machine Robo.