F.E.A.R. 3 in development before F.E.A.R. 2 was released

Even before Monolith Studios had finished working on F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, new developer Day 1 Studios was already putting in the hours on the third game in the series.

Ernest Zamora Jr, producer on F.E.A.R. 3, explains to Strategy Informer that Day 1 needed the extra time to implement all of the "innovative features" the company had planned for the game.

Of course, the biggest of those features is the introduction of co-op multiplayer to the franchise, which sees gamers stepping into the roles of Point Man and Paxton Fettel - Alma's two sons.

Zamora explains that the transition was fairly smooth, with "lots of folks from Warner Bros working hand-in-hand with Day 1 in various stages of development."

Day 1 didn't come to the party completely unprepared, though - the developer had worked previously on the console ports of the original F.E.A.R., and were familiar with the "key tenets" of the franchise - the game's frenetic horror and signature combat styles.

F.E.A.R. 3 is due out next month for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.