Volition explained to us at PAX East today that Saints Row 4 isn't "Saints Row 3.5" nor the canceled Saints Row: The Third standalone expansion "Enter the Dominatrix" in a different package. The team told us that work began on Saints Row 4 about two months before The Third finished, with another team split to do Dominatrix.

"We had to go in and totally gut the [Dominatrix] story for Saints Row 4. Everything that was the missions or the story we did for Dominatrix was totally thrown out," Steve Jaros, creative director at Volition told us. "All the voice recording that we did all thrown out. We redid the entire story. The game is mission wise the same length as Saints Row 3, plus other open worlds on top of it."

Senior Producer Jim Boone told us that in June last year, shortly after Jason Rubin took on his short-lived role as president at THQ, the agreement was made between Rubin and Volition to combine the games and focus the team on one full project.

"Everyone on the team had the same concern, we didn't want to make a 3.5, we aren't making an expansion pack. What we put out to the world has to be worthy of the name Saints Row 4. I really think everyone on the team will stand behind it," added Jaros. "So much stuff has been changed and thrown out. Even the best of the [Dominatrix] stuff that we liked and pulled into the game we still changed. Nothing was drag and dropped in."

Saints Row 4 will launch on August 20, featuring weapon customization, mechs, a new alien enemy and a... dub-step gun.