July 16, 2013 - Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim), in partnership with Calytrix Technologies, SimCentric and Alelo, has been awarded the US Army’s ‘Games for Training’ (GFT) contract. Primed by Calytrix, the five-year program - based on the new Virtual Battlespace 3 (VBS3) simulation product - delivers the next generation of game-based training technology to the US Army.
BISim has a strong heritage in developing game-based simulation tools, and previously delivered VBS2 for the US Army’s Game After Ambush (GAA) contract in 2009. VBS2 has been continuously improved since this delivery, and all of these enhancements, plus exciting new game engine features, are rolled into the brand new VBS3. BISim is committed to delivering modular technology with an emphasis on re-use and open standards, and VBS3 is a further step towards a common virtual environment for use across all aspects of military simulation. VBS3 is backwards compatible to facilitate re-use of VBS2 scenarios and content, and will run on hardware compatible with VBS2. More details on the VBS3 feature-set will be released in the coming months.
In addition to VBS3 being delivered to the US Army, it will also be provided as a normal software update to the United States Marine Corps, both the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence and the Swedish Armed Forces. VBS3 will also be provided to industry partners with a valid Virtual Battlespace Developer Network (VBSDN) subscription at the time VBS3 is released worldwide, which is expected to be in early 2014.
Other customers may pre-order VBS3 by purchasing VBS2 v2.0 now, or purchasing a first-adopter VBS3 upgrade. All sales of VBS2 v2.0 between now and December 31, 2013 will include a free upgrade to VBS3 upon release. VBS3 first-adopters will receive discounts on future VBS3 modules and training, and government customers will be invited to shape the VBS3 roadmap through a new VBS3 Military User Group.
BISim is very proud to support the US Army as part of the Calytrix Team, and is excited to deliver on the GFT program. BISim has extensive experience at delivering game-based training platforms, and we are working to ensure a smooth technology transition from VBS2 to VBS3. BISim is also working very closely with TerraSim, a Pittsburgh-based company recently acquired by BISim, to improve the procedural terrain generation capability of the VBS3 Development Suite, and to facilitate interoperability.
Peter Morrison, CEO of BISim, said “BISim is committed to serving the US military, and we are confident that the new capability in VBS3 will serve the US Army superbly. We are very excited and honored to be part of the Calytrix Team, delivering the VBS3 platform to the US Army as its new flagship game-based training tool”.