At stake is $15,000 in cash and prizes and an all-expense paid trip to New York City, along with the fame and bragging rights that being the best virtual mercenary in the world gets you. Practice rounds begin today with official qualifying tournaments kicking-off in January 2008.

The Ultimate Mercenary Tournament will offer single and team play ladders in the online multiplayer modes. Ten finalists will pack their bags and head to New York City in February for a spot in the championships to be televised on Voom GamePlay HD.

For complete registration information, along with rules and regulations, go to the official tournament website..

Soldier of Fortune Payback evolves the signature gameplay of its predecessors with refined controls, tension-packed warzones, and an enemy damage system that may be shocking to even experienced FPS players. Boasting more weapons options than any previous Soldier of Fortune installment, Soldier of Fortune Payback's impressive arsenal includes an array of more than 30 weapons including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, projectile explosives, weapon attachments and cutting-edge tactical weapons.

Soldier of Fortune Payback will satisfy online gamers with many of their favorite online multiplayer modes including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Elimination, Team Elimination, Capture the Flag, and Demolition. Additional online options include maps tuned specifically for multiplayer action, persistent stat-tracking throughout the gamer's online career, and many server settings for custom online play.

The Soldier of Fortune Payback storyline reflects today's trend of "outsourcing" wars. When a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong, freelance mercenary Thomas Mason finds himself battling an insidious enemy that knows no boundaries. Traditional armies can not handle these extremists – only underground guns for hire can fight a war this dirty and get results.

Features:

• Built to harness the power of next generation- Featuring an incredibly realistic modeling system allowing for accurate hit detection and detailed damage modeling. Enemies will not only react to the specific area they've been hit but also to the power of the weapon they've been hit with.
• One of the most lethal collections of weapons ever assembled - Over 30 of the baddest weapons including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, projectile explosives, weapons attachments and futuristic prototype weapons.
• The world's most dangerous hotspots- Players will find themselves thrown into authentic mercenary situations in real world hotspots around the globe. Survive and ambush and rescue a diplomat, infiltrate a terrorist organization, go on a search and destroy mission and much more.
• Enemies around every corner- High intensity combat situations where players will need to take down over 15 unique enemies including terrorists, mobsters, insurgents, enemy soldiers and more.
• Online multiplayer- Play your favorite individual and team based online modes including death match, team death match, elimination, team elimination, capture the flag and demolition. Additional online options include maps tuned specifically for multiplayer action, and persistent stat tracking.
• Compelling new storyline- When a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong, players find themselves battling an insidious enemy that knows no boundaries. As mercenary Thomas Mason, players will need to uncover and terminate an extremist plot aimed at throwing the world into global chaos.

Soldier of Fortune Payback, rated "M" for Mature, will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, the PC. Xbox 360 and PC versions ship Nov. 13, 2007, with PlayStation 3 following on Nov. 20, 2007.