Planetside 2's new faction lets you play as a robot mercenary who will fight for anyone

After six years, Planetside 2 is getting a fourth faction. The massive-scale FPS celebrated its sixth anniversary yesterday and, during a livestream, revealed the game’s first new faction since launch. Nanite Systems Operatives don’t function like soldiers, however, as they’re robotic mercenaries who fight on behalf of other other factions.

These playable neutral mercs will join whichever faction in the zone has the lowest population. If you switch to a different zone, you’ll be reassigned. The Nanite Systems Operatives will only be available to members, but the developers believe that their inclusion will benefit Planetside 2 as a whole, reducing queue times and balancing wars and individual fights.

It’s an unusual addition, though the original Planetside did something similar, with developers occasionally putting players in a fourth faction that had more health and access to all the weapons. All the other factions would then team up and try to destroy them.