Highly Controversial First-Person Shooter Shut Down After 20 Years

America's Army, a deeply controversial multiplayer game developed and funded by the US Army, is shutting down after 20 years.

The game's latest version, America's Army: Proving Grounds, is being taken offline later this year, with no news of any further titles in development. The game will still be accessible via private servers on PC, but any PlayStation users hoping to get back in will find the game completely unavailable.

An official blog post shared by the developer confirms that the America’s Army: Proving Grounds servers will shut down on May 5, 2022. There will be no further support for the game after that. Alll PSN services will be disabled, leaving behind nothing but the single-player features - of which there really aren't that many.

"Thank you to everyone who played AA:PG, and thank you to those who still enjoy it," the blog post reads. "While support and servers are still active, we encourage you to dive into matches with your battle buddies and continue the mission. More details will be shared as information becomes available, so please stay tuned."

Released several months after the 9/11 attacks and just before the war in Iraq, America's Army was often highly criticised for the way it presented war as a game in an effort to recruit players to the Army. While it was always open about its nature as a recruitment tool, many felt uncomfortable with the way in which it targeted younger players and trivialised conflict. I can't imagine it'll be missed all that much.

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