Bohemia Interactive’s old but still respectable game could allow modders to create some genuinely interesting new concepts.

When Operation Flashpoint launched in June 2001, it was one of the most ambitious games we had ever played. It was among the earliest military simulators, and it mattered because it offered an open-world experience before the idea of open-world games had become a dominant industry trend.

Its highly detailed simulation of combined-arms warfare took place across vast, freely explorable islands at a time when most first-person shooters had barely moved beyond corridors. We could drive tanks, fly helicopters, and command entire military squads. We could even lie down.

The game was buggy, ugly, and clunky, but it was also light-years ahead of its time. Operation Flashpoint is now 25 years old, although it no longer carries that name because the license belongs to Codemasters, and therefore Electronic Arts, which does not appear particularly interested in the property. Under its newer title, ArmA: Cold War Assault, it remains the same game it has always been.

Developer Bohemia Interactive has major plans for the anniversary. Cold War Assault is receiving a remastered edition using a rebuilt version of the original Poseidon engine, bringing features such as widescreen support and better compatibility with modern hardware. The complete version is not available yet, but a demo offering a standalone slice of the game has already been released.

The demo also serves as an official toolkit that fans can study, modify, and use to create new ArmA content. Bohemia has also published the complete source code for the engine on GitHub. The code has been modernized to C++20, compiled with CMake and Clang, and now provides cross-platform support for Windows x64 and Linux x64 systems.

According to Bohemia, the license does not cover the ArmA and Operation Flashpoint trademarks or their logos, so any fork of the engine must clearly distinguish itself from those brands. Beyond that limitation, modders and programmers can freely use the code. We are eager to see the completed remaster, because while we have enjoyed every ArmA game, there is something about the original Cold War setting that Bohemia has never surpassed thematically.

Players have already had the chance to rediscover several locations associated with Cold War Assault in ArmA Reforger, which recreates islands similar to Everon using the developer’s newer engine. ArmA Reforger also serves as a testing platform for ArmA 4, which is expected to arrive in 2027.

Source: PC Gamer, Steam, GitHub