Arma III a Steam exclusive

Bohemia Interactive has announced that Arma III will be a Steam exclusive. Explaining the decision, studio CEO Marek Španěl acknowledged some gamers may be irked at the decision, but said ultimately it was the right choice for the game to only be available on Steam.

“We realize that some people may find it difficult to migrate to a new platform, especially if they were used to purchasing and playing our games without any external third-party application," he said. "We have evaluated the pros and cons, but in the end Steam enables us to release Arma III, brings massive advantages to the game, and improves the end-user experience. Not to forget, the majority of our players already come from Steam.“

In a detailed blog post titled "Full Steam Ahead," Bohemia explained that if Arma III was not a Steam-exclusive, it would be difficult to ship the game this year.

"It is important not to forget the bottom-line as set out above: we honestly believe that we would not be able to deliver Arma III in 2013 without this decision," the company said.

Boxed copies of Arma III will be available in most regions, Bohemia said, noting this could take the form of a Steam Code in a retail package or a DVD. Arma III was originally targeted to launch in 2012, but was delayed to 2013 after two of its developers were arrested in Greece for spying. Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar have since been released on bail, though they still face trial.

For more on Arma III, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.