America’s Army recruiting video game will shut down after 20 years

America’s Army: Proving GroundsThe Army has announced that ‘Free to Play First-Person Shooter’ will be shutting down its online functions on Tuesday, May 5. This closure will end a twenty-year long run of an Army recruitment tool that was often criticized for its tone and purpose.

America’s Army: Proving Grounds It is available on PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network and Windows PC via Steam. The shutdown ends player stat-tracking and removes access to the game’s Play Online mode. It is expected that offline functions will still work. The Windows version had mission editors and private server support. According to the Army, those features are likely to be maintained.

The shutdown also means the end of the America’s Army website, and any login created to access features there. America’s Army: Proving Grounds It was part of an outreach mission to recruiters to set up accounts and include their contact information. Reports at the time indicated that more than 13,000,000 did. Proving Grounds’ Launched August 2013.

“Thank you to everyone who played AA:PG, and thank you to those who still enjoy it,” the Army said on Monday. “While support and servers are still active, we encourage you to dive into matches with your battle buddies and continue the mission.”

America’s Army launched for Windows PC on July 4, 2002, before the war in Iraq and barely one year into the Afghanistan campaign, the Army’s longest-ever conflict. The purpose of the virtual experience was to assist potential recruits in deciding if being a soldier is right for them. America’s Army Later, the company expanded into new applications such as a mobile booth, which made an appearance at amusement parks and sporting events.

Although the game received awards from the gaming press at the beginning of its development, many critics viewed it as propaganda and a tool to further the militarization American culture. Some complained the game was inappropriately targeting minors and teens, trivializing the war soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan as some kind of gamified activity.

America’s Army: Proving Grounds Launched August 2013, for Windows PC and PS4 The game allowed the players to perform drills and missions in the imaginary nation of Czervenia. Developers included a user-friendly “normal mode” to lead players through the basic tasks soldiers would perform in a typical operation, and “hardcore mode” where players are responsible for a lot more of their own safety. In a 2013 preview, developers told Polygon that the game’s focus was on cooperation and accomplishing objectives rather than eliminating or killing enemies.

According to SteamCharts, the game’s concurrent-user average on Steam dipped below 200 in June 2021, and climbed above 220 in January. The last time it had a maximum concurrent user count exceeding 1,000 was June 2017.