While ARMA 3‘s development trundles on, Bohemia Interactive have made the decision to release the game’s campaign over three free DLC installments.
The first piece of the campaign called Survive will launch within one month of the game’s release. The next two parts of the campaign, called Adapt and Win, will be released “in the months thereafter”. These campaigns are sets of missions to form what they call a “mini-campaign” but are related to each other to tell a story.
The decision has been made so the team can get the game launched but give themselves additional time to perfect the campaign. It’s like delaying the release without delaying it.
So what exactly will be included in the game when it launches if the campaign is coming as free DLC?
According to Bohemia there;s going to be plenty to get stuck into including the large zones of Altis (270 km²) and Stratis (20 km²), 12 single player missions, 3 faction showcases, 9 multiplayer missions, 10 firing drill challenges, 20 vehicles , 40+ weapons, 5 factions, and the mission editor.
Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, Project Lead on Arma 3, had this to day on the game’s content release schedule:
“This was not a decision we made lightly. As game creators, we love developing and playing through campaigns so, to those awaiting ours, we say: sorry for the delay. After talking a lot about a focus on quality over the last year, it simply did not feel right to compromise now. Rather than pushing back the entire game, we launch this year with an awesome package – a splendid kick off for the Arma 3 experience.”
Reading through the latest development blog, it’s apparent that ARMA 3 has been a wild ride for Bohemia, there’s been development team changes, members of the team being arrested in Greece and the sheer scope of what they are trying to achieve.
While not having the campaign available on the game’s release may not be perfect, it’s probably the right decision. At least the community can start playing with editor.
