Agents of Mayhem adds Saints Row stalwart Johnny Gat as a preorder bonus

Johnny Gat, the ultra-cool Saints Row stalwart who once ventured into the very depths of hell in a heavily-armed recliner to rescue the Boss, is headed to an all-new, and yet not all that terribly different, world of guns, explosions, and violent excesses. Deep Silver announced today that the character, along with unlock and personal missions, unique skins, and the voice acting talents of Daniel Dae Kim, is coming to Agents of Mayhem as an "exclusive" preorder bonus through GameStop and Steam

How did this happen? The prosaic explanation is that Deep Silver holds the deeds to Saints Row and Agents of Mayhem, and so it can do whatever it wants with them. But narratively, it's a little more complicated: I won't spoil it for you, but it's tied directly to the "canon" ending of Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell, which ultimately saw Johnny returned to his old job as a cop in the city of Seoul. 

"Gat’s been hard on the beat in this universe as a Lieutenant in Seoul’s police department, but the tragic events of Devil’s Night left Johnny in a coma," Deep Silver explained. "After awakening almost a year later, Johnny discovers that all of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency have been wiped out and replaced with C.O.P (Civilian Overwatch Patrol) robot units. Johnny hates robots, loves guns, and his reputation for wanton destruction makes him the perfect fit for Mayhem." 

I'm not a fan of preorder-exclusive DLC, but having Gat in the game is an appealing prospect, especially since, based on our April preview, a lack of personality is one of the biggest challenges facing the game. It's also possible that the character will be made available for separate purchase sometime after Agents of Mayhem comes out—I won't go so far as to say it's likely, but I will point out that it happened with the Commander-in-Chief Pack that was offered as a preorder bonus for Saints Row 4. Make of that what you will. 

Agents of Mayhem comes out on August 15. 

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.