Saints Row: The Third set for holiday 2011

Saints Row: The Third, the next instalment in the multimillion selling Saints Row franchise, will be released this holiday season for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, THQ and developer Volition have announced.

“Saints Row: The Third puts you on top of the world, right at the beginning of the game, with all the perks that go along with being the head of an elite criminal organisation,” said Danny Bilson, THQ executive vice president, Core Games. “There’s no delivering pizza, no shuttling family members about in a long series of taxi missions. Instead, you take all the power of the Third Street Saints and you take the world by storm.”

Years after taking Stilwater for their own, the Third Street Saints have evolved from street gang to household brand name, with Saints sneakers, Saints energy drinks and Johnny Gat bobble head dolls all available at a store near you.

The Saints are kings of Stilwater, but their celebrity status has not gone unnoticed. The Syndicate, a legendary criminal fraternity with pawns in play all over the globe, has turned its eye on the Saints and demands tribute.

Refusing to kneel to the Syndicate, players will take the fight to a new city.

Holiday 2011 is shaping up to be one hell of a scrap, but with the cancelled True Crime and the lack of any new GTA THQ’s Saints Row could gobble up the custom on gamers desperate for their next fix of crime-based sandbox gaming.