''Arma'' (sometimes stylized as ') is a series of first- and third-person

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

tactical shooter A tactical shooter is a Video game genre, sub-genre of First-person shooter, first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and Military tactics, tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballisti ...

s developed by Czech game developer

Bohemia Interactive Bohemia Interactive a.s. is a Czech video game developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Prague. The company focuses on creating military simulation games such as ''Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis'' and the ''Arma (series), A ...

and originally released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. The series centers around realistic depictions of modern warfare (1980's cold-war era to speculative near-future settings) various perspectives. Combined arms warfare is depicted, and while the series primarily focuses on

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

, the games have a wide selection of usable vehicles, including

combat vehicles A ground combat vehicle, also known as a land assault vehicle or simply a combat vehicle or an assault vehicle, is a land-based military vehicle intended to be used for combat operations. They differ from non-combat military vehicles such as M ...

armored fighting vehicles An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can b ...

, military helicopters,

multirole combat aircraft A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air def ...

, motorboats, and civilian passenger vehicles. ''Arma'' was originally conceived as a

spiritual successor A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous product or work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue th ...

to '' Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis'' after Bohemia Interactive lost the intellectual rights to the series. The first installment was released in 2006 and the most recent in 2022.

History

''Arma: Armed Assault''

''Arma: Armed Assault'', known as ''Arma: Combat Operations'' in the United States, is the first ''Arma'' installment, released for

in November 2006 (Czech Republic/Germany), February 2007 (Europe) and May 2007 (U.S.) using the Real Virtuality 2 game engine.

''Arma: Queen's Gambit''

''Queen's Gambit'' is

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

for ''Armed Assault''; it was released in September 2007 (Europe) using the Real Virtuality game engine.

''Arma 2''

''Arma 2'' is the second full ''Arma'' installment, released for

and released in June 2009 using the Real Virtuality game engine. The mod '' DayZ'' was released on this title, which requires the other standalone title ''Operation Arrowhead''.

''Arma 2: Reinforcements''

''Reinforcements'' is a standalone expansion of the original ''Arma 2''. It includes the downloadable content '' Arma 2: British Armed Forces'' and '' Arma 2: Private Military Company'' which can be purchased for any standalone ''Arma 2'' title.

''Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead''

''Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead'' is a standalone installment for

, released in June 2010 with the Real Virtuality 3 game engine.

''Arma: Cold War Assault''

In June 2011, Bohemia Interactive re-released '' Operation Flashpoint'' as ''Arma: Cold War Assault'', as

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer and former publisher based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts and managed under the EA Sports ...

retain the rights to the ''Operation Flashpoint'' trademark. Owners of ''Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis'' and the Game of the Year Edition may download and install the latest patch for free, and the game is available for purchase via a number of digital distribution channels. This release does not include the ''Red Hammer'' expansion, which was developed by Codemasters. The game uses the Real Virtuality game engine.

''Arma 2: Firing Range''

''Arma 2: Firing Range'' is a standalone for Android and

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and was released in July 2011.

''Arma Tactics''

''Arma Tactics'' is a standalone installment for

Nvidia Shield Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis ...

and other Android devices with

Nvidia Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...

Tegra3 and Tegra4. It was released in May 2013 using the Unity game engine.

''Arma 3''

''Arma 3'' is a standalone installment for

, released on September 12, 2013, using the Real Virtuality 4 game engine. It was first open to the public on March 5 using

Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

program. In 2015 and 2016 it was also released for

MacOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

and

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

''Arma Mobile Ops''

''Arma Mobile Ops'' is a standalone installment for Android and

. It was released in June 2016.

''Arma Reforger''

''Arma Reforger'' is a standalone game released in 2022 into

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release Software release life cycle, developm ...

for

and

Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...

. It received its 1.0 release in November 2023. It received

PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...

release in December 2024. Set on the island of Everon (from ''Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis''), ''Arma Reforger'' follows a "

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

gone hot" conflict between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and Everon-based rebels. The name alludes to the REFORGER maneuver.

''Arma 4''

''Arma 4'' is an upcoming installment for

and

. It was announced on May 17, 2022. On October 16th, 2024, the game was given a release date of 2027 during the Bohemia Interactive 25th Anniversary Concert.

References

External links

{{Bohemia Interactive Articles which contain graphical timelines Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2006 Video games with co-operative vehicle control