World in Flames by Way of EA
Guess who's publishing Pandemic's PS3 sandbox game? Good guess!
Published: February 1, 2007
It's crazy to think that we first saw Mercenaries 2: World in Flames behind closed doors at E3 almost a year ago. Not so much because we got a chance to see it so long ago, but because even back then, Pandemic was looking for a publisher. There was talk that because of the combined might of Pandemic and BioWare shacking up together that their muscle might allow for a self-published game, but nobody really know.
Now we do. Electronic Arts will be publishing the game, and before anyone starts groaning about the deal, consider this: Valve, the developer as committed if not more to publishing their own stuff digitally through Steam, their download service, hooked up with EA to publish Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 on the PS3. Clearly someone at EA is either an amazing salesperson, or they are offering these guys a pretty hands-off approach to publishing their games. Either way, both parties are awfully happy about the deal.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Pandemic Studios and to be working together to make Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a global blockbuster,” oozed EA Partners' VP/GM, David DeMartini. “EA Partners is committed to providing the world's best development studios with access to EA’s unrivaled global publishing resources, helping gamemakers reach the widest possible audience.”
“Pandemic Studios is excited to join forces with EA Partners to give Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a spectacular global launch,” near-echoed Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman. “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will set the bar for explosive, open world action games in the next generation, and everyone at Pandemic is excited that fans will be able to get their hands on it later this year.”
So the game is coming, and still only coming to PS3 at this point, though we fully expect that with EA's additional backing that a 360 version isn't far behind. If all is going as well as we hope, Pandemic can keep on working on the game, and EA will using their marketing and publishing muscle to get the games in as many heads and hands as possible. Sounds good to us.
Now we do. Electronic Arts will be publishing the game, and before anyone starts groaning about the deal, consider this: Valve, the developer as committed if not more to publishing their own stuff digitally through Steam, their download service, hooked up with EA to publish Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Portal and Team Fortress 2 on the PS3. Clearly someone at EA is either an amazing salesperson, or they are offering these guys a pretty hands-off approach to publishing their games. Either way, both parties are awfully happy about the deal.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Pandemic Studios and to be working together to make Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a global blockbuster,” oozed EA Partners' VP/GM, David DeMartini. “EA Partners is committed to providing the world's best development studios with access to EA’s unrivaled global publishing resources, helping gamemakers reach the widest possible audience.”
“Pandemic Studios is excited to join forces with EA Partners to give Mercenaries 2: World in Flames a spectacular global launch,” near-echoed Pandemic CEO Andrew Goldman. “Mercenaries 2: World in Flames will set the bar for explosive, open world action games in the next generation, and everyone at Pandemic is excited that fans will be able to get their hands on it later this year.”
So the game is coming, and still only coming to PS3 at this point, though we fully expect that with EA's additional backing that a 360 version isn't far behind. If all is going as well as we hope, Pandemic can keep on working on the game, and EA will using their marketing and publishing muscle to get the games in as many heads and hands as possible. Sounds good to us.