The game, which was first announced 17 years ago, is being developed by Haemimont Games, who have worked on the Tropico and Surviving Mars series.
The announcement trailer features cinematics and some quick looks at early gameplay, which remains turn-based and tactical. Fans will command a team of mercenaries, including returning mercs Ivan, Tex, and Len, as they fight a paramilitary group in Grand Chien.
And since the Adonis Corporation brings them in, it’s likely they aren’t all involved for entirely altruistic reasons (plus, they’re, uh, mercenaries …)
Regardless of their reasons for fighting, there will be a “wide cast” of mercs available when the game finally releases, according to Haemimont Games. How many mercenaries that will be remains to be seen (or hinted at), but characters will have special perks unique to them, with the developers saying that their personalities will play into their abilities on the battlefield.
One of the developers said that the Jagged Alliance community has been top of mind throughout the entire development process, with team members researching what fans love most about the series. The team expressly set out to make an entry that expands the “freedom of exploration” by making quests and missions more dynamic and less “Go from A to B” in nature.
There will be a quest journal, and it seems that completing sub-missions will be more organic this time around, with the developers referencing the ability to uncover mission clues in a non-linear structure and decision impacting territories and militias across the game. To mix up missions even further, there will be a “dynamic weather day/night cycle” as well.
Loot and salvage will be critical components, with plenty of weapon upgrades and modifications available. Players will use those, alongside mercs, to command units around the varied locations of Grand Chien, including deserts, swamps, estates, military compounds, and many more.
Oh, and there’s drop-in/drop-out co-op. That should be pretty neat. Stay tuned for more on Jagged Alliance 3 in the lead-up to release, and go ahead and wishlist it on Steam.
