Arma Reforger: what is new Early Access ‘Enfusion showcase’ - is it coming to PS5?

Consider Arma Reforger an 'appetiser’, a taste of what Arma 4 - the series' next 'mainline' game - might be like

While fans wait for the next game in the series, Bohemia Interactive has launched Arma Reforger, a spin-off of sorts designed to show off the studio’s technology ahead of Arma 4’s release.

Think of Arma Reforger as an ‘appetiser’, a taste of what Arma 4 - the next ‘mainline’ game in the series - could turn out to be.

Reforger is a small slice of the Arma 4 experience that has launched in Early Access on Steam and Xbox Game Preview on Xbox Series X and S.

It’s designed as a test that will both show off Bohemia Interactive’s in-game tech, and allow the studio to gather feedback on what works and what doesn’t before Arma 4’s release.

The early access period is expected to run for about a year, during which three major updates will be issued, as well as ongoing gameplay and feature improvements.

That does not mean that when Reforger leaves early access, it will ‘become’ Arma 4, and the developers are keen to stress the game’s status as a standalone title.

Bohemia Interactive is promising “realistic Cold War combat”, and players will get to choose whether to play as a US or Soviet Army soldier.

The first is Conflict, which “lets you fight for supremacy over 51 km2 of incredible island terrain in an authentic Cold War setting.”

It takes place on the fictional island of Everon, a remake of a map from the original Arma game - extensively updated and reinvented utilising the developer’s latest tech of course - that features tall peaks, valleys, beaches, and meadows.

Then there’s Gamemaster, which allows you to edit and create game modes and scenarios with other players in real time.

The community has always been an integral piece of the Arma puzzle, with dedicated fans creating their own ‘mods’ and add ons, which at times have even amounted to separate games of their own.

Arma Reforger comes packaged with Workbench, the creative suite of Bohemia Interactive’s new Enfusion game engine, which the company is eager to show off.

Those tools are the same ones used by the company to create the game, and they’re granular enough that you’ll need a good understanding of C# code to get the most out of them.

With the new engine, Bohemia is starting over with the Arma series, and so too are the modders who have been the game’s lifeblood for years.

By the time Arma 4 is released, it wants the most dedicated players to have already mastered the tools that will make it shine.

When can I play it?

It costs £24.99, though a free trial of Arma Reforger is available on the Xbox Store if you want to try it out before you buy.

There is no support for last generation consoles like the Xbox One or PS4, so players will need to upgrade to current generation machines (or PC) if they want to experience Arma Reforger.

Reforger marks the Arma series’ first console release, and while modding will not be available on consoles, players will have full access to any mods created by the community - as long as they don’t exceed the Xbox’s memory limits.

Will it come to PS5?

But that exclusivity it “timed”, meaning a PlayStation 5 version of the game is coming at some point down the line.

A recently leaked marketing guide for the game indicated that a PS4 and PS5 release is in the works, but no exact release date was given.