America's Army Games Cost $33 Million Over 10 Years

Responding to a Freedom Of Information Act request, the US government has revealed the operating costs of the America's Army game series over the past decade. The total bill comes to $32.8 million, with yearly costs varying from $1.3 million to $5.6 million. "While operating America's Army 3 does involve ongoing expenses, paying the game's original development team isn't one of them. Days after the game launched in June, representatives with the Army confirmed that ties were severed with the Emeryville, California-based team behind the project, and future development efforts were being consolidated at the America's Army program office at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. A decade after its initial foray into the world of gaming, the Army doesn't appear to be withdrawing from the industry anytime soon. In denying other aspects of the FOIA request, the Army stated 'disclosure of this information is likely to cause substantial harm to the Department of the Army's competitive position in the gaming industry.'"

Comments

Less than the cost of a single cruise missile.

[GrpA]

Three games in total on the budget of a startup... That's pretty good.

This would have to be one of the army's most cost-effective projects ever then, wouldn't it?

GrpA

Re:Less than the cost of a single cruise missile.

[Ill_Omen]

From the statistics you posted for the enlisted forces:

73.3 percent have some semester hours toward a college degree
16.2 percent have an associate’s degree or equivalent semester hours
4.7 percent have a bachelor’s degree

I gotta say, reading that makes me think John Kerry might have been right after all. That's an awful lot of college kids that didn't finish college.