Saints Row IV launching August 20

A teaser trailer for the already-confirmed Saints Row IV today reveals the open-world action game will launch in North America August 20 for current-generation consoles and PC. A launch for the rest of the world is slated for August 23.

In development at Volition Inc., Saints Row IV will be published by new franchise owner Deep Silver, which acquired the developer and the series for $22.3 million during the THQ bankruptcy auction in January.

Saints Row IV continues the story of the Third Street Saints, but with a twist. This time, the head of the Saints has been elected president of the United States and must fend off a "catastrophic alien invasion." The aliens have transported the Saints into a "bizarro-Steelport simulation," and players must make use of various superpowers to fight to free humanity from the invaders.

"Escape the simulation that's trapped the Saints crew, or die trying," reads a line from the game description.

When THQ canceled Saints Row: The Third's Enter the Dominatrix expansion last year, the company said this content would be folded into the new game.

A Deep Silver representative told Joystiq that Saints Row IV is not simply Enter the Dominatrix masquerading as an all-new game.

"That expansion was cancelled and elements of it were rolled into Saints Row 4," a spokesperson told the site. "There will be a director's cut of Enter the Dominatrix released as DLC when SR4 comes out."

For more on the franchise, check out GameSpot's review of Saints Row: The Third, which has sold over 5.5 million units to date.