Riccitiello says the game's sold 1.9 million copies, so more instalments are on the way.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames screenshot

Speaking during a conference call following the publication of EA's second quarter financials, EA CEO John Riccitiello has confirmed that strong sales of Mercenaries 2 - 1.9 million so far - means a third game in the open-world destruction series is a certainty.

In addition to confirming Mercenaries 3, Riccitiello also re-confirmed reports that Mirror's Edge and Dead Space will be further franchised, although these are ""not likely to be annual sequels".