Pandemic Studios is dead but the name lives on with a new game

by: John - posted: 11/25/2009 6:43:00 AM

Yes, the studios may have shut its doors but the brand name will go on at EA and they've already announced a new game in development. Mercs Inc is the working title of the next Pandemic Studios game but it's a little hollow as all the people are gone now. While the brand name will go on, it's a little sad to see that a game using their IP and their studio name won't be made by the people of said studio.

The Sabetour's still on pace for a December 8th release and it's the last game that was truly developed by the folks at the studio. In any case, I wish the folks taking over Mercs luck and hope they can do well with the franchise.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pandemic™ Studios, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that an all-new game in the studio’s popular Mercenaries™ 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™. 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 8th of the award-winning World War II action-sandbox game, The Saboteur™

“We are very excited to announce a new installment 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®3 computer entertainment system, the Xbox360® 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.