Earth Defense Force and Starship Troopers Just Paired Up In Japan

Sometimes things are just meant to be. I mean, for years, the Earth Defense Force games have been about killing bugs, along with other terrors, while trying to save the Earth. And the classic film Starship Troopers is all about killing bugs, all for the sake of protecting humanity. So why can't these two forces work together?!

Well, it turns out they are. According to DualShockers, the publishing team at D3Publisher recently announced that it has shipped over 300,000 copies of its latest gun-toting adventure, Earth Defense Force 5, in Japan. That includes both physical and digital copies, so it's great to see the game is a hit across the board.

As part of the celebration, the publisher has released a new trailer that announces the teaming up of the two bug-squashing franchises – Earth Defense Force and Starship Troopers – in one fun collaboration.

More specifically, the pairing is with the CGI film Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars, which is currently making the rounds on home video and in theaters in Japan.

In the trailer, which you can see above, trademark hero Johnny Rico appears, and he takes part in a marathon of bug-killing. There isn't much detail aside from that, but we're going to assume that you get to play as him and other Roughnecks over the course of the game as you protect the Earth from the devastating bug force.

The event will likely kick off soon, so if you've imported a copy of the game or downloaded it recently, you should be able to take part in the action.

As for when Earth Defense Force 5 will be released here, D3Publisher still hasn't provided a release date just yet. But E3 is just around the corner, and Earth Defense Force 4.1 did reasonably well for PlayStation 4 and PC, so it's probably just a matter of time before we get to know more.

In the meantime, you can check out Earth Defense Force 4.1 now, as it's available for those systems. You can also rent Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars now, or check it out on Blu-Ray and DVD. Grab some weapons and squash them bugs!