Just a few hours ago our long standing friends over at Bohemia Interactive Studios made an official announcement in regards to the upcoming third installment of the Armed Assault (ArmA) series they are actively developing on their Real Virtuality game engine. ArmA 3, following hot on the heels of ArmA 2 is expected to be released in the summer of 2012 and will interestingly enough be a title exclusively available for PC only.

As with the past ArmA titles, the game will offer a sandbox-style combat game experience with the most rich and detailed environments to grace the series to date. To save time I will quote the announced features list right below. Naturally to seasoned OFP and ArmA players these features listed are not really anything new to write home about. 

These include:

• Single-Player Campaign Evolve from a lone prey into a military commander in the open-ended & story-driven campaign.
• Vehicles & Weapons Control multitude of aircraft, vehicles and ships with the accurate simulation, shoot from anything from pistols to the sophisticated weapon platforms.
• Customizable Soldier Load Choose your uniform, assemble your weapon kit, change your loadout, get encumbered.
• Physical simulation & improved animations Take advantage of PhysX™ supporting the vehicle simulation, in-game interactions and the revamped animation system.
• Rich & authentic environment Explore the unsurpassed modern ground combat experience set on the authentic Mediterranean island modeled from the real geographic data.
• Multiplayer Gameplay Challenge both cooperative & competitive scenarios with full support of dedicated servers for both Windows and Linux.
• Completely Extensible & Moddable Design & create countless customizable scenarios using the intuitive & easy-to-use mission editor.

Bohemia Interactive have also apparently coined a new slogan of sorts for this upcoming ArmA release: “Survive, Adapt, Win!” Sounds rather ‘winning’ indeed.

Naturally BIS have also given some information on the new storyline for the coming release, to quote from their brand new official ArmA 3 website, “After years of intense warfare against Eastern armies, Europe has become the last stand for the battered NATO forces. On the verge of being driven into the sea, NATO command embarks upon a most desperate measure. In the hope of seizing what seems to be a well-guarded military secret, Operation Magnitude is launched. A small group of Special Forces and Researchers are sent to a Mediterranean island deep behind enemy lines. However, the mission is compromised and the task force destroyed, leaving Cpt. Scott Miller washed ashore upon the hostile island. In his effort to carry out the mission, he will face the dangers of modern warfare, an unforgiving environment, and the consequences of his own decisions…” Sure sounds like poor Captain Miller has his work cut out for him!

To quote BIS CEO Marek Spanel, ”We’re happy to bring the next generation of the Real Virtuality engine to life. The increased potential of the engine should allow Arma 3 to become our best-looking, most detailed and innovative military simulation game to date.”

Creative Director Ivan Buchta also said, “”Our ambition is not only to deliver the next generation of Arma with the improved engine, but also to fully exploit the potential of our new technology in the gameplay. You can look forward to the unique experience of blending sandbox-style combat with a rich story.”

So all in all while there isn’t any revolutionary or new information in this latest announcement as all us BIS fans knew ArmA 3 was in the works for some time now after the strong commercial success of ArmA 2 and Arrowhead. Let’s just hope BIS will release some more juicy details and specifics on what new things to expect soon.

For more information and to check out some screenshots check out the new official ArmA 3 website.

ArmA 3 System Requirements:
OS – Windows 7 / Vista
CPU – Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster
GPU – Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770, shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM, or faster
RAM – 2 GB
HDD – 15 GB free space
DVD – Dual Layer compatible
DirectX® – 10