Arma 3 DLC Will Let You Play As A Humanitarian Worker

Games have been letting us play as soldiers and combatants for decades, but there’s far more to war than fighting.

Image credit: Bohemia Interactive.

Popular war shooter Arma 3‘s upcoming “Laws of War” DLC will let you play as part of a new faction, the International Development & Aid Project (IDAP), and will introduce scenarios based on International Humanitarian Law. The IDAP’s goal is to rapidly respond to humanitarian disasters, and their gear loadouts will allow for roles such as explosive ordnance disposal specialists. IDAP players will also have access to emergency vans, utility and de-mining drones, safety vests, messenger bags, hard hats, and a mine dispenser that is only to be used in “desperate situations”.

In addition, the DLC will feature a mini-campaign to introduce the new faction. In it, you’ll play as IDAP explosive specialist Nathan MacDade, who’ll juggle deactivating mines, speaking with an investigative journalist, and getting to the bottom of what happened in Oreokastro, Greece, by “experiencing the events from the perspective of various sides, in recollections that span multiple periods of time”.

It’s a unique take on a genre typically prone to shooting first and asking questions never, but it isn’t actually the Arma series’ first venture into humanitarian topics. Arma 2‘s “Army of the Czech Republic” DLC featured a mission in which you had to rescue civilians from a flooded city. Still, it’s cool to see developer Bohemia Interactive creating an entire expansion around the idea of humanitarian aid. The studio will even be donating a portion of proceeds to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the total amount of which it will apparently announce next year.

Arma 3‘s “Laws of War” DLC will be out “early” next month.