Mercs Inc, the game that survived the Pandemic (With Video!)

EA and Pandemic Studios have just announced that Mercs Inc, a supposed sequel or new entry into the core Mercenaries IP, would be going into development, which would be taken up by EA’s Los Angeles studios. This is quite refreshing, actually, as many fans of Mercenaries were wondering about the fate of this series in the midst of the Pandemic Studios layoffs. What’s even more interesting, though, is the fact that it seems like Pandemic Studios isn’t dead at all. In fact, on their twitter account, they reassured fans that Pandemic Studios was very much alive, just that they were no longer in their beloved Westwood offices, anymore. Hopefully we can get more details on the status of Pandemic Studios’ closure, and if EA has reconsidered keeping them open (or rebranding/relocation).

The game currently has no release date, no platforms slated, nor do we even know of an apparent logo. All we know is that there is a new Mercenaries game in the works and we’re excited to see what will come of the transferred responsibilities of the series to EALA.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 24, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Pandemic(TM) Studios, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that an all-new game in the studio’s popular Mercenaries(TM) franchise is in early stages of development at EALA. ‘Mercs Inc‘ (working title) is the latest entry in the action series first made popular by Mercenaries in 2005 and most recently by Mercenaries 2: World in Flames(TM). Mercs Inc will be the first Pandemic game to be developed by the studio at its new home in Playa Vista. Mercs Inc will also be the first Pandemic game released after the launch this December 8^th of the award-winning World War II action-sandbox game, The Saboteur(TM).

“We are very excited to announce a new instalment in the popular Mercenaries series because it demonstrates our continued commitment to Pandemic’s rich catalogue of intellectual properties,” said Nick Earl, Senior VP and Group General Manager at EA. “From the studio at EALA, a core creative team is forging new ground and conceptualizing new ideas for this exciting franchise.”

The most imminent release from Pandemic Studios is the action sandbox game, The Saboteur which ships on December 8, 2009. The Saboteur stars Sean Devlin; a street-tough Irish race car driver trapped behind enemy lines in 1940s Nazi-occupied France. Motivated by revenge, Sean fights, climbs, and races through open-world Paris, sneaking into the heart of the Nazi operations and sabotaging their every move. The Saboteur will be available for the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox360(R) video game and entertainment system, and the PC. The Saboteur has been rated M by the ESRB with the following as descriptors: blood, intense violence, nudity, sexual themes, strong language. More information about The Saboteur, can be found at http://www.thesaboteurgame.com.

Platform(s) and ship date for Mercs Inc not announced. This game is not yet rated by the ESRB.