Binned "Mercs Inc." footage appears

By Robert Purchese Published 24 November, 2009

Pandemic's bucket topples, spills.

Footage from what appears to be Pandemic's canned multiplayer Mercenaries game has leaked onto the internet.

The "Mercs Inc." pitch demo (found by superannuation) shows characters tearing around an outdoors environment shooting machineguns and explosive weaponry at helicopters, cars and other players for cash.

Vehicles provide transport and mobile weaponry, and most scenery appears to be destructible - as is common to the Mercenaries series. "Play with your friends," boasts the demo, "drive with your friends", "kill your friends".

A CV for former Pandemic VFX artist Dorian Compo corroborates the existence of a PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 game called "Mercenaries Inc." that was "cancelled [in] winter 2009".

EA confirmed the closure of Pandemic Studios last week, following a streamlining move that will cut 1500 jobs at what was once the world's largest videogame publisher.

EA bought Pandemic in October 2007 as part of an $860m acquisition of parent company VG Holding Corp., which also owned RPG heavyweight BioWare.

Under EA's control Pandemic has released two sub-par games: Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and The Lord of the Rings: Conquest.

A third and final EA Pandemic game, The Saboteur (gamepage below), will be released on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on 4th December.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Monkey_Puncher #1 2 years ago

    No wonder it was canned, it looks like a shoddy Xbox game.

  • Retroid #2 2 years ago

    I really liked Mercenaries 2 when I picked it up (cheaply). It could've done with more polish but it was a bloody good bit of fun, especially with a friend! \o/

  • Collymilad #3 2 years ago

    Yea there was a good game somewhere in Mercs 2 :p

  • Eurolamer #4 2 years ago

    No great loss here. Looks like something out of 2005. I thought it was a tech demo until the "Play with you friends" banner appeared.

  • Spekingur #5 2 years ago

    You guys are lame.

  • jellyhead #6 2 years ago

    Sad to see them go but they needed to buy some Mr Sheen to polish their games.

  • Quint2020 #7 2 years ago

    Shame to see these guys go tbh, they always seemed like cool guys in interviews and whatever. Two fairly poorly received games in a time where your parent company is struggling obviously isn't good enough.

  • cianchristopher #8 2 years ago

    I'm really not sad to see them go! Shit studios won't be missed.

    Same goes for GRIN, fucking rubbish!

  • RumpyStumpy #9 2 years ago

    EarlBassett is a prick

  • Skurmedel #10 2 years ago

    Sounds like The Hives in that video, yay!

    Did Pandemic and GRIN gangrape your mother and kill her or something cian? Why this violent resentment?
    Edited by 2 at 24/11/09 @ 13:46

  • MasterNameless #11 2 years ago

    @Rumpy

    We all know that, but as tempting as it is, and I occassionally fall for it too, let's try not to give him the attention he so desperately craves. ;)

  • McBradders #12 2 years ago

    Looks like it could have been a really fun game. Ah well :(


    Best of luck to those affected.

  • coomber #13 2 years ago

    Saw this on CVG earlier. Doesn't look like it would have been much of a winner. I would have preferred a regular Mercenaries 3...

  • melch #14 2 years ago

    picked up mercs 2 for £3.50 in currys and actually quite enjoyed it, however i would of been bitter as hell if id paid full price, it was decidely ropey at times

  • monkeywithnoeyes #15 2 years ago

    i cant say pandemic will be a sad loss these days. This gen they've offered nothing but unpolished, unfinished, products - products that spent several years in development.

    Mercs inc will certainly not be a loss. Mercs 2's been the worse game i've ever had the misfortune to put into my console... the game was simply "broken".

    I do have to question EA's timing.. which, much like microsofts before them, cant be the most intelligent thing to do right before the release of a now dead studio's game. Surely that will hurt sales in some fashion? the feeling that the game offered to you wont be supported after launch.... and given this is a pandemic game odds are that it's gonna need patching out of the box.
    Edited by 1 at 24/11/09 @ 16:45

  • Monkey_Puncher #16 2 years ago

    I get -3 for stating the truth?

    I loved these guys on Xbox, this gen though? Awful! I'm still pissed that I spent £40 on Mercs 2, what a broken buggy mess that turned out to be.

    I don't wish for anyone to lose their job (well maybe Arsene Wenger) but the fact is their games of late really weren't up to par.

  • gaselite #17 2 years ago

    The [game] shows characters tearing around an outdoors environment shooting machineguns and explosive weaponry at helicopters, cars and other players for cash.

    I love this paragraph.

    Plus ca change.

  • Apostle #18 2 years ago

    Looks like a mix of Warhawk (graphically, at least) and Battlefield Heroes. Might of been fun.

  • Murton #19 2 years ago

    I quite enjoyed Mercs 2 and LOTR Conquest, though I played both almost exclusively in co-op. Both sorely needed a little more polish but is that really Pandemic's fault? Until recently EA have been notorious for tendency to be quite unforgiving with regard to release schedules, I think it's much more likely that EA wouldn't allow them "polishing time" than Pandemic suddenly became crap at some point after Star Wars Battlefront, Full Spectrum Warrior and Mercs 1.

  • armada66 #20 2 years ago

    Mercs Inc has been CONFIRMED by EA, as a game STILL iin production. Those Pandemic staff who weren't sacked, have moved over to EA LA studio, and have continued work on MERCS INC there.