The floodgates have opened! Hands-on impressions from recent Killzone: Mercenary press events in Amsterdam, LA and Taipei have started appearing all over the web, and that means we can finally reveal additional details about the game. We also have a brand-new trailer for you to enjoy:
Killzone: Mercenary is a new first-person shooter in the Killzone series, developed specifically for the PlayStation Vita platform and powered by the stunning Killzone 3 engine.
Starting just after the ending of the original Killzone, and revisiting many of the events from the Killzone trilogy, the game puts players in the rugged combat boots of a mercenary named Arran Danner. Danner is a former UCA-soldier who has no qualms about taking on paid contracts from the ISA as well as the Helghast.
When a seemingly routine mission to evacuate the Vektan Ambassador and his family in Pyrrhus goes awry, Danner discovers that the outcome of the war could very well depend on the fate of the Ambassador’s young son. With both sides going through increasingly desperate lengths to get hold of the boy, he begins to wonder whether the price of victory is really worth the paycheck.
Comprised of nine single-player missions — each nearly an hour in length— Killzone: Mercenary delivers a full Killzone experience in a portable package. Completed missions unlock additional replay challenges, with a host of special objectives to accomplish. The game also boasts a full-fledged multiplayer mode with six maps tailored for eight players and three different game types, including the popular Warzone mode.
In keeping with the soldier-for-hire theme, every action in Killzone: Mercenary is rewarded. The better you perform, the higher your payout – not just in the single-player campaign, but also in the multiplayer mode. The wages you collect are deposited into a single bank account, so the money you earn in the campaign missions can also be used to buy gear and weapons for multiplayer matches, and vice versa.
Killzone: Mercenary makes full use of the PlayStation Vita’s considerable input and graphics capabilities. It enhances the familiar dual-stick FPS control scheme with touch controls for actions such as brutal melee, and with tilt controls for accurate sniper aiming. The game even uses the powerful Killzone 3 engine to bring its massive environments and impressive set pieces to life. But don’t just take our word for it — watch the trailer above, and check out the screen shots.
Killzone: Mercenary is scheduled for release on 18th September 2013. Stay tuned to both PlayStation Blog and Killzone.com over the next few weeks – we’ll have a behind-the-scenes interview with game director Piers Jackson soon, and a closer look at multiplayer.
1 2 Next »
57 CommentsAdd Yours
1
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:52 am by Cirran
An unusually late blog post o.O Looking awesome though! Can’t wait.
2
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:53 am by swcoruscant
Looks awesome in every way, cannot wait to get my hands on it!
3
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:54 am by Avengerrr
This is great news, I’ve already declared my sheer delight at this on another website but seriously this looks a fantastic game. One question though: will it have a bot mode?
There are other questions which no doubt will be answered down the line like WOW, how on earth did you optimize the killzone 3 engine to perform this good? Amazing stuff.
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:08 am by Fred Dutton
Hey everyone. Happy to see you’re all enjoying the trailer. We’ll be answering more questions soon – we’ll have a closer look at the single player next week, and multiplay the week after.
All I can say now is that it plays just as good as it looks and the multiplayer is a ton of fun.
Right now, I’ll see if I can lure Victor onto the Blog to answer any further questions.
4
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:56 am by greekgoddj
September!?! Wow that is a long time to wait. Shame it is capped to 8 players online… but that was the case with Burning Skies and COD so wonder why 8 specifically. Excited anyway!
5
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:57 am by Paul2007
This looks absolutely stunning. Near PS3 level graphics! It is a pity we have to wait until September but it will be so worth it. It is games like this that Vita needs and it seems Sony is finally ready to start delivering the second wave of first-party titles.
Syphon Filter next please then another Uncharted!
6
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 1:00 am by bcfc545
awesome….can’t wait
I hope they bring out a LTD edition for this ….fingers crossed
7
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 1:27 am by hayzink
personally im not a fan of fps games so i doubt i will buy this for that reason.
but this looks stunning it looks just like killzone on ps3, to me it looks like a system seller and that’s great, the game also still has 7 months till its out so more time to add even more polish to it.
very well done so far this looks like the game fps fans have been crying out for on vita.
8
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 2:51 am by anunnakid007
YES! Where is my time machine when I need it?
SEPTEMBER CMON! DEMO DEMO!!!!
9
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 3:37 am by MrYungMozeezBaby
when the bloody hell are sony gonna stop milking the bloody biscuit out of killzone and uncharted?
WE WANT NEW IP’s
sorry for the language, im just annoyed
10
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 5:28 am by BIG_MAC--
MAN ! After playing the crysis 3 beta I want that & then I see this, im getting treated with really good First person shooters! FEED ME MORE
11
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 5:45 am by KarvaNaama
It’s always the Brits moaning here… Anyway looking great! You’ve got me as a buyer!
12
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 6:27 am by Ctirad89
Holly [DELETED]. This game run on the PS3? No, it’s Vita. Amazing!
13
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 6:38 am by kivi95
Hmm is there anyway you could make it maybe 5 vs 5 atleast? Hopefully there will be a day 1 DLC map as both killzone 1 and 2 had 8 maps at launch.
Anyway the game looks great and I already have it on pre-order!
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:54 am by Victor Zuylen
Don’t worry, we’ve tailored the size and layout of the multiplayer maps to the eight-player limit, so you’re never left wanting for opponents to fight.
14
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 7:09 am by tbisley
WOOW!!!!! :O DAY!! ONE!!! That looks absolutely stunning!! :O
15
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 7:09 am by ghattas
dam this is GOOD, I am not into fps but always liked the Killzone franchise since the PSP game, will get this.
16
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 7:30 am by cowbanana
This looks really amazing. Both in terms of visuals and actual gameplay. So colourful… and those environments! It is going to be a long wait… but I’d rather wait for something good than get a rushed, unfinished product *cough*Resistance: Burning Skies*cough*.
I bought Burning Skies a couple of weeks ago, for the princely sum of €5,8
At that price it was actually great fun. The first level, which is also the demo, is by far the worst part of the game. Overall it was rather unpolished, but for the price I paid, I had lots of fun with it. I doubt I would have been as amused at €50 though.
Sony shot themselves in the foot by releasing half-junk like Burning Skies. It only brought unneeded nagativity towards the Vita, which is capable of so much more.
I hope the second wave of games are more polished.
17
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 7:42 am by lbrowsky
@9
You get new IPs all over the place. There’s The Last of Us and Beyond on PS3. Also Gravity Rush, Soul Sacrifice and Tearaway on Vita. I don’t see milking here at all. Last Killzone game was when? February 2011? Then it’s 2,5 years between each games. Who does that? You could say it’s milked if new Killzone games were release evey 12-18 months, which is a standard for majority of big series.
18
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 8:17 am by Ishan_The_King
Wow! This looks the next blockbuster the Vita so desperately needs… Going to pre-order right away.
19
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 8:23 am by KylieDog
4v4 online = garbage. That isn’t a Killzone experience, is the same garbage from turkeys like Resisrance and CoD on Vita.
20
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 8:48 am by DarktaxFA
@18 4v4 is good if the maps are the right size
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 10:06 am by Victor Zuylen
A good point, and something we’re very keen to get right. Our aim is to keep the multiplayer action constant and intense while still delivering the visual fidelity of the single player environments.
21
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:06 am by Sorry_Dude
Will tilt controls be available for all aiming or just for sniping? Hoping for the former. It worked great in Uncharted: Golden Abyss.
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 10:07 am by Victor Zuylen
The tilt controls are only available for sniper weapons.
22
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:21 am by bidbaldwolf86
Wow this looks good. I can’t wait for this to get released. I have avoided Resistance and CoD but this looks like a game that is actually developed to take advantage of the Vitas specs.
23
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:38 am by Dr-abdulelah
any chance to increase number of multiplayers more than 8 ?
24
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 10:18 am by Lord_Gremlin
“enhances the familiar dual-stick FPS control scheme with touch controls for actions such as brutal melee, and with tilt controls for accurate sniper aiming”
Oh come off it!!! It’s not enhancing, this is BS. Can you please make this BS at least optional?
What’s wrong with you? The touch controls made Uncharted GA and Resistance on vita unplayable garbage for me. Seriously, what kind of stupid person actually thinks touch screen in a shooter is a good idea? Maybe your menus are touchscreen only too? Then shove them where the sun don’t shine.
Good grief. And I’ve hoped this one be the playable one.
25
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 10:20 am by Grimskull44
Am i right in guessing the motion control is a similar style to KZ2? remember using it to great effect in multiplayer.
And, is there anything in-game reliant on the rear camera? as the camera on mine has been less than cooperative the past few months, which is why i didn’t get AC Liberation or Uncharted golden abyss, they’d be incomplete-able most of the time.
26
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 10:48 am by Carl-G
Looks AMAZING
Now show me KZ4 on PS4 SONY 
27
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 11:09 am by MikLSP
This is one of my most anticipated games and easily my most anticipated Vita game. It looks like a really fantastic job, I can’t wait.
Good to see a release date although it’s a little disappointing to still have nearly 8 months to wait
I’m sure it’ll be worth it though.
28
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 11:25 am by dark_angel69
Wow this looks amazing. I might just think about buying myself a vita with this game with it. At the moment the only vita games which I was interested in was
Uncharted
Resistance
Assassin creed liberation
Heard some bad things about them (apart from Uncharted) which put me off on the vita and that Uncharted wasn’t as good as the normal PS3 games. If this Killzone is as good as the PS3 games then I just buy one after all.
Should make a small vita demo but let it be playable on the PS3 so it would let PS3 players get a taste of it. Might help to improve vita sales
29
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 11:56 am by godheit
Hi Victor,
is there a chance for a mp beta?
30
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:00 pm by MikLSP
I’ve seen mentions on other sites of cards dropped in multiplayer according to the rank of the opponent you kill. Are these dropped in the map and require collection (like treasures in Uncharted) or are they automatically awarded for getting each kill?
Also if they are dropped in the map, can they be picked up by anyone (in which case who gets the card) or just the player who got the kill?
31
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:01 pm by Tonello1976
And there’s my birthday present!!!
32
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:05 pm by ooinaru
How about fps? Framerate drops are noticable through the entire trailer, do you have a target fps for final release? I’d rather have less graphical effects than constant framerate drops
33
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:05 pm by supersmith2500
This game is going to put Nihilistic’s FPS games on Vita to shame and I have to say it looks pretty amazing. Here are my questions.
* Will screenshot function be enabled for this game. Nihlistic disabled the screenshot feature in their games for some stupid reason.
* How many missions?
* Any future DLC in the future?
Also, can not wait to play this.
34
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:13 pm by r00usku
Got CoD-blops-declassified as x-mas present from my bro. It isn’t as bad as i expected, have played some MP and few SP levels. Quite a lot of connection problems in MP. KZ:M looks infinately better than CoD.
Will propably buy this. (Fan of KZ) Just make sure there is KZ3 like Objectives mode in MP. (or no deal)
35
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:50 pm by FBZ1501
Looks awesome… can’t wait for this and if it plays as good as it looks then I will be buying it on release!
36
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:56 pm by O1d8oy_23
I hope MP has a host migration!
37
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 12:58 pm by NiroseDK
is botzone coming to this game aswell. since i mostly play when im not at home? then it would nice to play multiplayer with bots.
38
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 1:17 pm by almighty-slayer
Gyro controls only on sniper rifles?
That’s a bit rubbish. Any chance you’ll change that and use it for every weapon? Gyro controls were fantastic in Uncharted: GA. Having KZM without it would be really a bad thing.
39
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 1:19 pm by EggersTownVille
Hello Victor and Fred
Looking good from what I see so far..
If you can shed any light on game modes please do so,or at least consider my questions for next few weeks when can let more info loose.
Will there be AD HOC,bot zone,co op levels ?
Are touch controls forced or optional ?
Thanks for your time and efforts
P.S I love KZ3 and still play it when I get the chance it’s my favourite fps multiplayer game of all time
40
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 1:24 pm by RoBo-O-G
Game looks amazing but im worried about the framerate. Please guys prioritize responsive controls and good framerate over fancy graphics if need be. If this game has a framerate like resistance BS or controls like kz2, you will lose alot of sales. Please don’t make those mistakes!
41
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 2:07 pm by EinBear
“The tilt controls are only available for sniper weapons.”
Please, please, please reconsider this and include gyro aiming for everything. It was a thing of beauty in Uncharted: GA.
The sticks on the Vita are inherently less accurate than the full sized ones on the DS3. Fine tuning your aim with the gyro is such a great way of compensating.
42
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 2:25 pm by nampad
Let me start by saying how phenomenal the game looks, I am really hyped and can’t wait to finally have a real FPS experience on the go
But I have to say that I am really disappointed by the 8 player multiplayer cap. Thats a bit to low, even if you are gonna design the maps around it. Best player count for teamplay is around 5on5/6on6 for me and for TDM oder FFA even more people are better.
The problem with the 8 player cap gets worse because most of the time you play a game the matchmaking won’t fill up all the slots or people get disconnected so that in the end there are just 6 people around most of the time.
I really hope it’s because of the games nice graphics and not because of another stupid reason, like the Vita voice chat being capped at 8 people (Nihilistics excuse).
I have read, that you are still discussing whether to implement auto aim in multiplayer so I have to voice my opinion. PLEASE DON’T INTEGRATE AUTO AIM IN MULTIPLAYER!!!
Also I would like it, if you could implement gyro aim with every weapon, just not snipers. Make the controls very customisable, so that people can get what they want.
Hope somebody reads this, keep up the good work.
43
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 3:26 pm by Bullitt001
I’ve been a fan fan of Killzone since day one and can’t wait to get my hands on this one!!!
44
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 3:29 pm by XnoobsquadX
Will the multiplayer be the same as CoD and Resistance Nat type restrictions?
Game looks awsome btw:P
45
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 3:44 pm by kivi95
God dammit… GTA V is releasing 1 dat later. You might aswell delay the game now.
46
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 4:36 pm by uk-kurorai
This looks amazing. Judging by the footage and screenshots this looks to be running at native (960×544) rez unlike Uncharted:GA which ran at approx. 60% resolution. Color me mightily impressed if this actually runs at native rez and 30fps (again, U:GA dipped as low as 20 fps). Judging by the footage it does.
You guys are tech-wizzes, never imagined to see graphics on par with PS3 running on mobile hardware. D1p for me! Guys, thanks for what will certainly be Vita’s first properly amazing FPS.
47
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 5:16 pm by anunnakid
Im lost for words… we need a demo as soon as possible to convince our friends to buy a vita for this game.
Thank you, it looks stunning.
48
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 7:49 pm by pineanas
Bravo Guerrilla! Unbelievable!
As a day one customer I think this is what the vita needs!
Now only two more big hitters like inFamous/God of War/next Uncharted/Gran Turismo/bioshock/mgs would be unveiled, even in TEASER form, it would create some much needed vita hype.
The hate now is too high, so even if we get one or two amazing trailers as this one, everyone is still pessimistic:(
Step in the right direction Sony, now don’t be afraid to take a few more!
49
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:34 pm by Project2insanity
@Lord_Gremlin; I’d appreciate you not saying everyone who disagrees with your opinion is stupid. Unlike yourself, I personally find most touch-screen features seamless. Unless being ‘stupid’ makes us (who disagree with your opinion) more capable?
@KylieDog; 4 v 4 certainly ain’t a great announcement but the number of players definitely does not define Killzone. If you buy the game and face me, you’ll feel like you’re up against a full 16! Let the trash talk commence. ^^
(I’m so giddy about this!)
50
Posted on 31 January, 2013 at 9:41 pm by bLaiSe_HUN
This looks amazing! Wish it’d come sooner.
Please guys, implement gyro aiming for all weapons not just the snipers!
1 2 Next »
We close the comments for posts after 30 days. If you would still like to comment on this post, please use our contact form.