Mercenaries 3 unmasked

EA CEO proclaims long-term support for Pandemic's franchise, says original IPs won't be sequelized on annual basis.

Four days after it teased sequels to Dead Space, Army of Two, and Battlefield: Bad Company, EA has confirmed that another follow-up is being planned. During a post-earnings conference call this afternoon, EA CEO John Riccitiello revealed that his company is planning a third installment in the Mercenaries series, developed by its Pandemic Studio.

Mattias will be back for another payday. (In this economy, why not?)

"There will be a Mercenaries 3 and, if I have anything to do with it, there will be a Mercenaries 10," declared the outspoken executive. The proclamation was a brief bright spot in an otherwise dour afternoon in which EA revealed it was laying off 6 percent of its workforce and reported a loss of $310 million for the July-September quarter.

Riccitiello's ardent support may surprise some, given the occasional thumping Mercenaries 2: World in Flames received from critics. However, despite mixed reviews, the game has been a commercial hit. As of September 30, the oft-delayed title had sold 1.9 million copies internationally--as many units as Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and nearly as many as Spore.

302 Comments

  • GermanFizzle08

    Posted Nov 7, 2009 4:09 am GMT

    I really hope this game is better than the second. I loved the first one, not so much the second.

  • dunl12496

    Posted Oct 29, 2009 1:44 pm GMT

    Ugh... how much longer................

  • galace

    Posted Oct 23, 2009 9:06 pm GMT

    Mercenaries 2: WIF was lacking in two things that I find important. Soundtrack and atmosphere, granted Mercenaries 2 was more realistic but I liked the war-torn dark mountains of North Korea, it added a great feeling moving around seeing the change in the cities (granted how small they were). Michael Giacchino and Chris Tilton's music in Mercenaries POD was phenomenal, probably one of the best thematic anthems I have heard come out of a video game. World In Flames I feel lacked both of these qualities, although If the location is Latin America I can't blame them for choosing the soundtrack they used but I was dissappointed with the lack of Michael Giacchino. I felt the music made the game very...toned down and mellow, not like the gripping explosive soundtrack in Playground Of Destruction. I just hope that the next Mercenaries features these aspects and more...

  • dunl12496

    Posted Oct 10, 2009 11:55 am GMT

    Where is it? Isn't it supposed to come out in 2009?!

  • PMCN7

    Posted Sep 29, 2009 3:16 am GMT

    the 1st mercs was good at it's time and the 2nd i didn't play YET and it seems to be good and i hope the 3rd will have planes and more weapons and vehicles!

  • um_i_love_games

    Posted Sep 24, 2009 6:10 pm GMT

    I hope it's better than the 1st one.

  • warleader11

    Posted Sep 2, 2009 6:00 pm GMT

    i liked the 1st mercenaries game. but the 2nd was ok. i hope the 3rd is excellent! i hope there is more missions in the 3rd one and the AI isint as stupid i can go through the entire game w/o dieing.

  • CBforever

    Posted Aug 29, 2009 1:01 pm GMT

    I think Mercs 2 was great just as mercs 1 sure it needed a few extras but I'm sure Mercs 3 will be better and give us what we're missing.

  • KYLONI

    Posted Aug 23, 2009 5:22 am GMT

    i would realy want 2 know when the trailer comes out imeen its coming out nearly on the same day as modern worfare 2 if anyone knows please say. the game comes out in early november.

  • KYLONI

    Posted Aug 22, 2009 6:01 pm GMT

    i actuly thought Mercenaries 2 was quite good the only thing was that it didnt have enough helicopters but if iwas going to put in more i would have these=AH-64 Apache. MI-28 Havoc. Mi-24 Hind. MI-28 Havoc. CV-22. AH-1Z Super Cobra. WZ-10. Z-9WAs. Z-8A. Mi-17. and if thers one tank i woud realy like it would be the challanger tank from the UK and i would realy want to pilot planes like the A-10 warthog and iwould like the new map to be bigger and it would be cool if there was an aircraft carier out in the sea that moved quite slow so that you could have a chance to land on top of it with a heli or a plane and if ther are going to be planes you could store them on the top maximum would be 3 planes are watever and 4 helis and there would be one for every faction and you can buy the ships and go inside it as well make there no limits outside the map ships on pda for excample: AN ship moves outside the map ship icon

  • gamerdude092

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 9:48 am GMT

    I agree with you 100% monkhead55. My best friend and i were playing recently and we earned about 50 Million dollars in about 30-45 min. Then a group of about 5 or 6 civillan cars drove into an enemy tank that was on fire and blew up. We lost about 65 million in about 4-5 seconds.

  • monkhead55

    Posted Aug 1, 2009 8:28 am GMT

    i never played the first mercenaries but i have the 2nd one for the 360 and its outstanding. the freadom of the game and being able to destroy any and every thing. the thing that worries me is.... what made mercenaries 2 so so so good was that it was about revenge!. they cant make another revenge game but im sure the story with be awsome. im also afraid it will be rated M. THAT WOULD BE SO BAD! one thing i hope they'll change is the charge for hurting people. if i shoot some one i the head go ahead and charge me. if i blow up a car or destroy a bridge and people fall or hit some one with my car DONT GIVE A FINE.

  • pmo5010

    Posted Jul 31, 2009 3:21 pm GMT

    i've always envisioned a soldier of fortune/mercenaries hybrid. a realistically violent first-person shooter that sets you in a conflict zone and letting you choose your clients and having your character grow and affect events in the main story, along with a fully explorable world. that's way too much for a mercs 3 game but hopefully it'll be a lot better than mercs 2.

  • Peacesells92

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 10:55 am GMT

    As long as they take out how much you rely on oil, i hated searching for some just for an airstrike

  • sanjosebart

    Posted Jul 26, 2009 4:28 pm GMT

    seriously, Mercs three will rock. Only complaint I have about Mercs 2 was that every bad guy had an RPG. Seriously? what was up with that? But I loved working for the VZ guerrillas and UP. Loved the dialog. Jamaican pirates and U.N. californians=funny. just don't dissapoint

  • dunl12496

    Posted Jul 17, 2009 6:08 am GMT

    Suggestions for Mercenaries 3:

    1. More vehicles to drive. I really liked the sports bike and helicopters.

    2. More guns. Oh yeah! They should add lots more.

    3. Larger Map. They should expand the length and how far it goes.

    4. Timers are a no no. NO TIMERS EVERYONE HATES THOSE!! THEY RUIN THE STINKING GAME!!!

    5. More custom vehicles. I loved the Panzercycle but wished the gun would turn.

    6. Please be teen. Some kids can't play M but will let them play T.

    7. It should be set in Japan. It would be cool to blow up stuff and have samurai battles.

    8. No explosions when the vehicles flip over. What the heck is up with that?

    9. Getting hurt for stupid stuff. Like hitting something with your gun. I died doing that.

    10. Invincibility and Unlimited ammo. Everyone loves it. But don't make us have Xbox live for it. Alot of people can't afford that.

    11. No charging us for killing civilians, I love doing that.

    12. Wider selection of vehicles.

    13. It would be really cool if you could use stuff like swords and pick up wrenches and misc. stuff.

    14. How about creating your own character? That would be really cool.

    15. Less easier destroyed vehicles. And they don't always have to blow up.

    16. It would be nice if it had stun guns. Heh heh.

    17. Maybe set in the future. If it's present times it's not as cool.

    18. C4 related missions. Oh yeah.

    I think that's it.

  • JackG101

    Posted Jul 11, 2009 5:06 am GMT

    They should make a third and end it at a third. The second was dissapointing and if there gonna rush this one aswell I very much doubt the third will be even more of a dissapointment. It will be India, and if they keep to this dictatorship and AN invasion theme, it will get boring awful quick and will ruin realism. They should steer away from several factions and having a coup-military theme, they should make a few factions with many jobs, not 6 factions that makes the games story, well, terrible.

    The glitches on the second were unacceptable, and if the third is rushed like this one was, I very much doubt more money will be made.

  • DRIV3R24

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 1:20 pm GMT

    in the last cutscene of mercs 2 fiona asked the player what they thought about India, so i bet the next game is gonna be there.

  • jake659

    Posted Jul 6, 2009 2:08 pm GMT

    snowmobiles and planes that you could use would be cool.

  • Karmazyn

    Posted Jun 29, 2009 10:31 am GMT

    Mercs 2 was one of the best third person action games I have ever played. I loved it and I do not understand bad reviews that Mercs 2 got. I can not wait for the first instalment. Pandemic 4 Life !!!

  • monkeygamer2112

    Posted Jun 28, 2009 11:53 am GMT

    i played mercs 2 and thought they could improve on some things. hopefully they will fix the bugs, AI and add more 1 liners in this one.

  • RazerBlade13

    Posted Jun 25, 2009 8:37 pm GMT

    Mercs 1 was really fun. Mercs 2 I avoided because of reviews but a third might be good.

  • batmanboy11

    Posted Jun 25, 2009 4:29 pm GMT

    I'm a big fan of Mercs 1 but never played the second, however a third could be a good idea.

  • ahm85

    Posted Jun 25, 2009 1:13 pm GMT

    I want this game on PC .. my favorite platform

  • spike7960

    Posted Jun 24, 2009 8:16 am GMT

    Well, the reason every car and building were at a poor quality was because of how big the game was. I mean, it was like the biggest of all games of it's type. For me, this game was a lot of fun! I agree, better model quality needed! Cant wait for the 3rd!

  • skeleton08

    Posted Jun 21, 2009 2:07 pm GMT

    hopefully they will add some sort of difficulty setting. 2 got boring because of its glitches and because it was way too easy.
    btw they said india in last cutscene

  • DRIV3R24

    Posted Jun 19, 2009 4:45 pm GMT

    in the last cutscene i think fiona mentioned going to korea. i bet thats where the next game will be at.

  • cbstunna1996

    Posted Jun 17, 2009 11:11 pm GMT

    when do it com out

  • tyzwain

    Posted Jun 17, 2009 12:37 am GMT

    Either India or Africa. Either way they're running out of choices

  • covertgamer78

    Posted Jun 9, 2009 2:52 pm GMT

    Original Mercenaries was very good, hopefully Mercenaries 3 will be as good and they will learn from Mercs 2.

  • blockagemaster

    Posted Jun 3, 2009 12:17 pm GMT

    so i guess the next battle ground for mercs will be india? and i assume the factions will be indian,UN, chinese, pakistani.

  • errentos

    Posted May 30, 2009 2:23 pm GMT

    Also what gives with the invincible civilians!? mercs 1 should be re-released on next-gen console

  • errentos

    Posted May 30, 2009 2:20 pm GMT

    mercs 2, I dare say WAS better on the PS2 than on the PS3, perhaps the prev gen version was probably created after the next gen version, Like the way you can stokpile vehicles by driving them to the garage/dock/helipad. PS2 version, if memory serves was rated higher than PS3 version, as a gamer I would like to see these features in the next mercenaries game. Also I would like the environment to be more destructive, like that of red faction's geo-mod

  • dry253

    Posted May 28, 2009 4:34 pm GMT

    merc2 was very fun but why is the ps3 and ps2 not the same

  • paystation

    Posted May 16, 2009 9:51 am GMT

    mercs 2 was class but the bad thing was that you coudnt put your guns away

  • liberator328

    Posted May 4, 2009 10:50 am GMT

    mercs 2 was fun but what made the expirience bad was the vehicle physics, the bugging, the online play and worst of all they made an update for the ps3 and 360 where u can use cheats but they didn't make any for the pc version and I have it on the pc.

  • errentos

    Posted Apr 27, 2009 1:16 pm GMT

    I have mercs 2 on both ps2 and ps3, ps3 version is good, but the ps2 version is better in some ways, but i think that that is only 'cause they would have made ps2 version after the next-gen version; they would have made changes

  • errentos

    Posted Apr 27, 2009 1:14 pm GMT

    where's it set? India like they said at the end of mercs 2?
    they could do it in Israel/palestine that would be good

  • Wackybananas

    Posted Apr 25, 2009 8:15 pm GMT

    i hope there are planes that would be awesome

  • grootelaar

    Posted Apr 16, 2009 12:44 pm GMT

    merc 2 wasnt that bad it was fun only when you are hit you are like a rag doll many bugs and the online is not good

  • mustkillallhuma

    Posted Apr 14, 2009 8:22 am GMT

    They'd better have planes in the next one! I reckon they missed the planes out in this one cuz they couldent be bothered to design the flight dynamics of a fixed wing aircraft and they just wanted to release it quickly to keep the fans happy. Planes for Mercs 3!!!

  • mercman5

    Posted Apr 13, 2009 2:52 pm GMT

    Can't wait!!!!!

  • cheatspy

    Posted Apr 11, 2009 6:04 pm GMT

    ke

  • Yankee_In_TX

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 6:52 am GMT

    I'm stoked for 3. I liked 1 better than 2, but critics aren't fair to 2. There are MUCH worse games out there. It has a few flaws, but nothing (after glitches I never saw as a late comer) that ruins the game/gameplay.

  • redhotcard16

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 6:45 am GMT

    this game is alot better than this website gives it credit for. i bought it used for 20 bucks and it is one of the better investments that ive made in the past couple months. honestly ive been playing it more than the halo wars that i payed 60 bucks for and street fighter which i payed the same for. if you're lookin for a longer, fun game where u blow sh*t up, check this game out

  • TheMercMaster

    Posted Mar 13, 2009 8:01 pm GMT

    There's been some games where right near the release date, they announce it coming out for another game system. I hope they do that for teh PS2 and the PC!

  • paystation

    Posted Feb 23, 2009 9:54 am GMT

    i liked mercs 2 but this one sounds even better (it carnt get eny worst can it?)

  • PukingPug

    Posted Feb 18, 2009 4:44 pm GMT

    i love the hole series and cant wait for this one

  • lsthomas

    Posted Feb 11, 2009 12:41 pm GMT

    i think it will be awesome. even though 2 was a little disappointing.

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