America’s Army: Proving Groundsis an infamous first-person shooter developed to recruit for the United States military, and it has been in operation for 20 years. On February 7, the United States military announced that they would be refocusing their recruitment efforts in new places.
America’s Army, a first-person shooter game published in 2002, was developed and published by the United States Military.America’s Armywas explicitly created to encourage recruits into the military, and players experienced a variety of different military roles throughout the game.America’s Armywas a serious investment for the US Army, havingspent $32.5 million on the gamein the first decade since release. Now, after three major iterations ofAmerica’s Army, the free-to-play online service is closing down.
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In an announcement posted on officialAmerica’s Army: Proving Groundforums, the development team said goodbye to the community and announced they would be withdrawing support for the game soon. With this last farewell, the United States military is turning its attention to new franchises, such as theUS Marine CorpsCall of Duty: Warzonetournament.America’s Armyis to be removed from Steam and PSN on March 5, and all online matches will cease. However, fans of America’s Army will still be able to play offline, and host private matches.
The game was designed as a promotional tool for United States Army. It was a free-to-play tactical shooter that was widely enjoyed during its time. OnAmerica’s Army: Proving Groundsforums, the official post stated that across the three iterations of the game “there have been over 30 million objectives completed, 180 million successful missions, 250 million teammates assisted, and many more in-game achievements.“America’s Armywas the first large-scale use of game technology, by the US Army, for strategic communication and recruitment. It worked, too,unlike the US Army’s return to Twitch.
So, with that official support forAmerica’s Armywill be withdrawn soon. First designed as a marketing and recruitment tool for the United States military,America’s Armywill remain in the gaming industry history books for reasons good and bad.
America’s Armyis available on PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360 until June 03, 2025.
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