The Name Game – Operation Flashpoint
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Revision as of 06:37, 26 December 2020
Template:SideTOC Operation Flashpoint is the name of the original release of Arma: Cold War Assault. It is also the name of Operation Flashpoint: Elite, the XBox version of Operation Flashpoint.
Bohemia Interactive and Codemasters
Bohemia Interactive was contacted by Codemasters after seeing their demo of Operation Flashpoint reaching the million downloads and both agreed to work together; Codemasters would publish Operation Flashpoint. Doing so, Codemasters would hold the rights to the "Operation Flashpoint" name, while Bohemia Interactive would keep rights to their engine, assets and narrative.
Bohemia Interactive and Codemasters parted ways after Bohemia encountered issues in porting Operation Flashpoint on the XBox, and delays in a very ambitious Game 2 project. Those delays and issues increased Codemasters' pressure on Bohemia to create and release a sequel to Operation Flashpoint and in order to leave these restrictions, Bohemia Interactive started a new franchise with the game called ArmA: Armed Assault (ArmA: Combat Operations in the USA) and terminated Codemasters' partnership circa 2005.
Usage by Codemasters
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2001-06-21 | Operation Flashpoint release |
| 2002-02-01 | Operation Flashpoint: Red Hammer release (dev. by Codemasters) |
| 2002-06-28 | Operation Flashpoint: Resistance release |
| 2005-11-08 | Operation Flashpoint: Elite release |
| ca. 2005 | Bohemia Interactive/Codemasters split-up |
| 2006-09-10 | Armed Assault release |
| 2009-02-20 | Clive Lindop is presented as "a veteran of the original OFP team" |
| 2009-02-26 | Bohemia Interactive Press Release |
| 2009-06-17 | Arma 2 release |
| 2009-10-06 | Codemasters' Dragon Rising release |
| ca. 2010 | Codemasters' "Operation Arrowhead" cease and desist letter |
| 2010-06-29 | Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead release |
| 2011-04-21 | Codemasters' Red River release |
| 2011-07-13 | "Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis" becomes "Arma: Cold War Assault" |
| 2011-09-14 | Dragon Rising and Red River studio is closing down by Codemasters |
| 2013-09-12 | Arma 3 release |
Codemasters does own the rights to "Operation Flashpoint" but there is an exclusivity clause stating a sequel can only be done by Bohemia Interactive.
Codemasters, wanting to use the good aura of the license, decided to create a new game (technically not a sequel) with the same name and announced Dragon Rising in 2007, revealing it in 2008 at the E3 convention.
Developers
According to Eurogamer, Clive Lindop was introduced to them as a "veteran of the Operation Flashpoint team"[1] before being rebuked by Bohemia Interactive and corrected.[2]
Bohemia Interactive Press Release
On 2009-02-26, a press release was published[3] by Marek Španěl, CEO of Bohemia Interactive, to clarify the situation and put an end to Codemasters' voluntarily ambiguous statements - the praised, GOTY game is Operation Flashpoint, and Dragon Rising is -not- its sequel.
Operation Arrowhead
Codemasters sent a cease and desist letter to Bohemia Interactive before Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead's release, as they felt the expansion/standalone name was too close to "Operation Flashpoint". Bohemia Interactive did not comply and released the game with this name on 2010-06-29.
Guildford Studio Closure
On 2011-09-14, Codemasters is closing the studio responsible for Dragon Rising and Red River[4] and announces it will be focusing on racing games from now on.
See Also
- Original press release (Web Archive) - Marek Španěl's public statement on BI Forums
- Operation Flashpoint - The Name Game, a Bohemia Interactive blog post about the issue
- Rock Paper Shotgun interview
- Eurogamer paper about the BI/CM "war"
- Eurogamer paper about Bohemia's press release
- The Rise and Fall of Operation Flashpoint, a GVMERS video explaining the situation.
Notes and References
- ↑ "Clive Lindop is (not) a veteran of the Operation Flashpoint team" 2009-02-20 Eurogamer's article (corrected on 2009-10-21)
- ↑ "Bohemia Interactive slams Dragon Rising marketing" 2009-03-02 Eurogamer's article
- ↑ Bohemia Interactive Press Release on the forums
- ↑ "Codemasters to close Guildford studio" 2001-09-14 GamesIndustry.biz's article