Arma 3 — Steam Gift

Arma 3: a military sandbox where you write the battle's script yourself

Arma 3 isn't another corridor shooter — it's a massive military simulator from the Czech studio Bohemia Interactive. It launched back in 2013 and is still alive thanks to a huge community. You get entire islands — hilly Altis, coastal Stratis, the Pacific Tanoa from the Apex expansion — and hundreds of vehicles: tanks, IFVs, helicopters, jets, boats and drones. After that it's up to you: play the story campaign, join a fifty-player tactical operation on a dedicated server, or dive into the Steam Workshop for game modes you won't find anywhere else.

Why Arma 3 has lasted for years

The main reason is honest simulation. A bullet follows a ballistic arc, gets pushed by wind and pulled down by gravity, and a leg wound genuinely slows your sprint. Vehicles behave differently depending on damage, a helicopter carries real inertia, and at night without optics you really do go blind. This is a game about preparation, discipline and teamwork rather than reflexes. That's exactly why reenactment groups, tactical co-op fans and modders building anything from civilian RPG servers to large-scale military overhauls keep coming back to it.

What's in the Gold edition

The Arma 3 Gold edition is the game itself plus the two main expansions and a nice pack of digital content. Inside you get:

• the Arma 3 base game with all islands and the story campaign;
• the Apex expansion — the tropical island of Tanoa, new vehicles, weapons and a co-op campaign;
• the Contact expansion — a standalone story branch focused on electronic reconnaissance and an unconventional scenario;
• the Karts DLC — light-hearted go-kart races;
• digital art: the soundtrack, maps and a tactical guide.

If you want a full Arma 3 with both big campaigns and aren't chasing every niche DLC, Gold covers nearly everything a newcomer typically needs.

What's in the Platinum edition

The Arma 3 Platinum edition is the all-inclusive one. On top of the base game it adds every official Bohemia Interactive DLC:

• the Apex and Contact expansions;
• vehicles: Jets (fixed-wing aviation), Helicopters (an advanced flight model), Tanks (armored vehicles);
• weapons and missions: Marksmen (long-range shooting), Tac-Ops (a singleplayer mission pack), Laws of War (a humanitarian theme with mine clearing and drones);
• the Karts DLC and all the digital art — soundtrack, maps and tactical guide.

Platinum makes sense if you want the whole arsenal at once and never want to wonder which DLC you're missing on your favorite server. Plenty of mods and missions are built around having the vehicles from Jets, Tanks and Helicopters.

Important: both editions include the game itself

A common newcomer question is whether you need a separate "base" Arma 3. You don't: both Gold and Platinum contain the full game inside, so there's nothing extra to buy. In fact, for a Steam gift the opposite rule applies — you must not already own Arma 3, otherwise Steam won't let you accept the gift. If you already own the game and only need the DLC, that's a different kind of purchase, not an edition gift.

How you receive the game: a Steam gift via our bot

We deliver Arma 3 as a Steam Gift. You provide your friend invite link and your account region, place the order, and our bot adds itself to your friends, sends the gift and leaves once it's delivered. You don't need to accept the friend request manually, and Steam Guard isn't required either. The whole thing usually takes a couple of minutes from checkout, though we don't promise a strict timing. The key condition: your account region must match the gift region — Steam ties a gift to a region, and a mismatch simply won't be accepted.

If something goes wrong

The most common cause of a delay is friend requests being blocked in your profile or an expired invite link. Check that your privacy settings allow friend requests, generate a fresh invite link and send it to us — we'll retry the delivery. Hiccups are rare, and we do our best to sort them out quickly.

System notes

Arma 3 leans heavily on the CPU: simulating huge maps and dozens of AI units bottlenecks on the processor rather than the graphics card. On large multiplayer servers the FPS can dip even on strong hardware — that's an engine trait, not your build. For a smooth experience you'll want a modern CPU, plenty of RAM and an SSD install.

What to check out nearby

If you enjoy Bohemia's military themes and realistic shooters, take a look at related titles in our catalog: DayZ — a brutal survival horror built on the same Bohemia engine heritage, Arma Reforger — a newer military sandbox in the Arma series, and Squad — a team tactical shooter centered on coordination. All three suit anyone who loves the slow, deliberate play of Arma 3.

Pick the edition that fits your style: Gold to jump straight into both major campaigns, Platinum to own the entire series arsenal from day one. And don't forget your account region — it's the one thing worth double-checking before you order the gift.

🔗 Another way to buy

Take a look at these: Arma 3 as a Steam key.