Operation Flashpoint PC Release: 5 Year Anniversary

Prague, Czech Republic - 22nd June 2006

Five years ago one journey ended, and another began....

June 22nd 2001: A small Czech game developer with the name Bohemia Interactive Studio releases their debut military action PC title Operation Flashpoint, published by Codemasters. None of us could have predicted just where the story would lead. Five years later we find ourselves looking back at the incredible journey that the game and company have since embarked on.

"The dream and ambition we had for a deeply involving, large-scale, military combat simulation game, a game which offered freedom of choice, large numbers of forces and vehicles clearly struck a chord with hundreds of thousands of gamers which swiftly led to the game surpassing 1 million units sold."

"These last few years we've been busy working hard on our new PC technology, driven by our ongoing vision of an open and extremely large living virtual world that will find its latest incarnation in our new game Armed Assault."

Says Marek Spanel, Project Leader of Operation Flashpoint and Armed Assault and co-founder of Bohemia Interactive.

Military proven technology

The depth and scale of Operation Flashpoint led to the US Military approaching the company about the development of a military training simulator, this resulted in the creation of our Australian development studio BIA, and subsequently to the co-development with Coalescent Technologies of the military training simulate VBS. BIA has gone from strength to strength and VBS2 is expected to be available worldwide in Q1 2007.

New Project: Armed Assault

The long anticipated release of the Xbox version of Operation Flashpoint in 2005 which resulted in a number of favourable reviews was the closing chapter on Operation Flashpoint in our history. Our next project, announced at E3 2005, will be Armed Assault for PC.

In Armed Assault we want to give gamers a similar sense and feeling of size and scope of possibility that our previous title has given them, as well of course to bring our technology forward into the current generation. Richly featured and multi-faceted ArmA will include:

Engine/Game Features:

• Island approximately 400km2 in size. Richly populated with a wealth of landmarks and features.
• Simulated environmental factors and ambient wildlife
• Latest HDR lighting, normal maps & pixel shaders as well as enhanced aural simulation.
• Story driven single player campaign in an immersive and believable world.
• Intense large-scale multiplayer with 100 and more people online.
• Numerous MP modes with refined and optimised jump-into-play net code.
• Extensive editing and modding capability and community support.

New technologies, new possibilities

"Many things have changed since the release of Operation Flashpoint and PC technologies have moved a long way forward. In our new game Armed Assault we can utilize various modern technologies that we only dreamed about in the days of Operation Flashpoint, like graphic shaders, background data streaming. What has never changed is our passion to create unique and innovative games that go beyond the realm of disposable entertainment. With Armed Assault we move even further in terms of user customizability and user scripting."

Says Ondrej Spanel, Operation Flashpoint and Armed Assault Lead Programmer and co-founder of Bohemia Interactive.

Armed Assault
Format: PC DVD
Genre: First person military combat simulation
Release date: Q3 2006
Official website: http://www.armedassault.com

Media Asset Download: Technology Video & High Res Screenshots - ftp://www.flashpoint1985.com/Operation_Flashpoint_Anniversary_Assets.zip

For further information:

Paul R. Statham
Community/Public Relations Manager
Bohemia Interactive Studio
Paul.Statham@bistudio.com

Jiri Jakubec
Marketing & Sales Manager
IDEA Games
jj@idea-games.com

About Bohemia Interactive
Bohemia Interactive is an independent game development company with studios in the Czech Republic and Australia. Founded in 1999, the Company focuses on developing state-of-the-art computer entertainment software and research in advanced real-time 3D graphics, artificial intelligence and physical simulation technologies for real-time interactive environments. The Company's debut release, Operation Flashpoint (for PC), published by Codemasters, has won universal acclaim for its realism in simulating military conflict situations. BI has developed even more advanced game technology -- Virtual Battlespace 1 that is used by military organizations around the world to train real soldiers for combat. The Company was awarded the Best PC Game Developer of the Year 2001 Award in London and the Rookie Studio of the Year Award at GDC 2002 in San Jose. For more information about Bohemia Interactive visit BohemiaInteractive.com.

*OPERATION FLASHPOINT IS THE US REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF CODEMASTER SOFTWARE COMPANY LTD. THE ORIGINAL PRODUCTS MENTIONED ARE SOLD AND DISTRIBUTED BY BOHEMIA INTERACTIVE STUDIO S.R.O., WHICH IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, AUTHORIZED BY OR RELATED TO THE TRADEMARK OWNER.