Alcatraz in Crysis 3 Origin Pre-Order Leak

It's been nearly two years since we heard anything official about possible sequels to Crytek's popular first person shooter franchise (and eye-popping CryEngine showpiece), Crysis. Back in May 2010, EA went on-record - asserting that the publisher was definitely interested in Crysis 3 (as well as presumably 4, 5, and beyond). However, despite solid sales for Crysis 2 (not to mention near-universal critical acclaim: read our Crysis 2 review) and a successful HD rerelease of the original Crysis through PSN and XBLA, Crytek has been surprisingly quiet about the future of the franchise.

However, while Crytek remains quiet on the matter, the studio's Crysis publisher EA may have inadvertently outed Crysis 3 - ahead of what was supposed to be an exclusive announcement in Game Reactor magazine.

The reveal, which appeared yesterday as a set of Electronic Arts Origin pre-order pages, indicates that Crysis 3 will, similar to the last installment, be released as a "Limited Edition" - which will likely include exclusive launch DLC and, much like EA's other titles, an online pass (even though nothing but the cover art and price is listed on the pre-order page at this time).

Check out a screen grab of the Crysis 3 pre-order pages (and box art) below. Click to enlarge:

At this point, it's unconfirmed whether the image of, presumably, Crysis 2 protagonist Alcatraz firing a futuristic longbow featured on the pre-order pages (which have since been taken down by EA) represents the final Crysis 3 box art - or whether the listings will eventually be updated with a new image.

Before the slip-up, Crysis 3 was all-but confirmed for unveiling in the upcoming issue of Game Reactor - after leaked images appeared online showing a Crysis-like New York skyline on the Swedish Game Reactor cover. While the Game Reactor "reveal" article will no doubt contain plenty of details that are missing from Origin pre-order page, the slip-up will surely take a little bit of the surprise out of the proceedings.

Check out the Game Reactor teaser covers below. Click to enlarge:

As mentioned, Crysis 3 is a no-brainer for Crytek and EA - though, given the studio's efforts in creating near-photorealistic graphics on the current generation consoles, some gamers and industry analysts had been speculating that the studio might hold-off until the PS4 and Xbox 720 to show-off a new Crysis title. Similarly, anyone hoping that the Crysis 3 reveal is actually a precursor to next generation console announcements should take a closer look at the Origin pre-order listings - which clearly show the Xbox 360 (and PC) as supported consoles. While it isn't listed, there's also no reason to think that Crytek will be abandoning PS3 support as well.

At this point it's impossible to know what to expect from the game's story and protagonist as well as what new features (besides a longbow) we might see. However, we'll keep you posted as more Crysis 3 details emerge in the coming weeks.

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Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick for further updates on Crysis 3 as well as other movie, TV, and gaming news.

Sources: NeoGAF [via Destructoid]