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Feb 8, 2022 · After 20 years of operation, America's Army—the videogame, not the real-world military force—is going away. The US Army said in the official America's Army forum that all support and official ...
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By Joseph Knoop
Updated: Feb 9, 2022 11:11 am
Posted: Feb 8, 2022 8:09 pm
America's Army: Proving Grounds, the video game used as a recruitment tool for the United States military, will shut down on March 5 after more than 20 years on various platforms. As first reported by Vice, It will be delisted from Steam and PSN, and online matches will cease to be hosted. Offline and private matches will still be available.
America's Army released in three major iterations throughout the years, updating content and gameplay for an audience of 20 million players. Proving Ground was the latest version, released in 2013.
"The free-to-play America’s Army PC Game represented the first large-scale use of game technology by the U.S. government as a platform for strategic communication and recruitment, and the first use of game technology in support of U.S. Army recruiting," a forum post announcing the shutdown said. "Three mainline titles and more than 20 million AA players later, the series’ original purpose continued. There have been over 30 million objectives completed, 180 million successful missions accomplished, 250 million teammates assisted, and many more in-game achievements attained in AA:PG alone."
Released in a time when support for the United States military was at an all-time high in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, America's Army quickly became a popular attraction, reaching nine million total players by 2007. As a first-person shooter, it resembled Counter-Strike or Rainbow Six's militaristic themes, but also included mechanics that reflected the real-world.
Its status as a recruitment tool made it controversial, particularly among those who opposed the Iraq War. It was a common sight at game events in the early-to-mid 2000s, with recruitment officers on hand to demo it for interested players. In 2007, Iraq War veterans protested an America's Army showing while chanting, "War is not a game."
Twenty years after release, public support for the military is actually waning, according to a 2021 survey by the Ronald Reagan Institute. In the years since America's Army: Proving Ground has launched, the military has found new, often controversial ways to recruit young adults and engender a familiarity with the military from a young age, such as Twitch streams and official esports teams.
Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.
- Joseph Knoop
Games like Operation Flashpoint were more realistic and pre-date America's Army. I do have fond memories of playing it, especially accidentally fragging half my team with an M203 launcher and ending up in prison.
Feb 9, 2022 · The controversial US government-backed shooter America's Army is shutting down. The game has seen multiple iterations since its initial release in the U.S. in 2002, all developed on the...
- Ed Nightingale
- Deputy News Editor
Feb 8, 2022 · America’s Army: Proving Grounds, the free-to-play first-person shooter developed and published by the United States Army, will shut down online features on May 5, the Army announced on Monday.
- Owen S. Good
America’s Army: Proving Grounds is a 3D lobby-based FPS and is the official game of the US Army. The game features team-based small unit tactical battles using real-world weapons in across numerous locations with varying objectives.
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Feb 11, 2022 · After decades of enlisting gamers in the U.S. military, 'America's Army' leaves a lasting legacy of video games as recruitment tools.
