Mercs 2 dev admits "huge debt" to GTA
But sees Rockstar as "friendly competitors".
Pandemic Studios has acknowledged that openworld action game Mercenaries 2 owes "a huge debt to GTA", but doesn't believe that players have to buy one and not the other.
"GTA is such a phenomenon; so huge that I don't think anyone is really a competitor to GTA in a manner of speaking," creative director Cameron Brown told Eurogamer in an interview published today.
"I guess we're a competitor in the sense that we're in the openworld genre, but I would actually call it more of a colleague. That's what we aspire to be. And not just in terms of sales - everyone working in the business would love to sell those kind of numbers - but more because we owe a huge debt to GTA."
"I don't get the sense that someone who's going to buy GTA IV is not going to buy Mercs 2; I don't think it's an either/or decision for anyone," he added, admitting that he is "really, really fascinated to play [GTA IV] and see what they've got up their sleeves." We have a feeling he's not alone.
For more from Brown, check out our exclusive Mercenaries 2: World in Flames interview.