Who says you need to put zombies and dog-eat-dog PvP into your modern military combat simulator for it to be popular? At least one million people have snatched up ArmA 3 since its release last September, as revealed by developer Bohemia Interactive's top dog, Marek Spanel. Of course, it probably wouldn't hurt to have zombies in there, seeing as how Day Z has wracked up twice that sales figure.
Okay, so that's being a little unfair.
Last month, Bohemia Interactive outlined a roadmap for ArmA 3, which include an old school, straight up expansion, a "Bootcamp" update to help new players learn the basics, and DLC adding helicopter piloting to the game. So, anybody ready for the basics of flying a Huey can clip as many spruces as they need without costing Uncle Sam a billion dollars in military tech.
Day Z certainly helped ArmA's notoriety before splitting off and becoming its own thing. And good for it, too! There certainly is a place for a realistic combat simulator in this day and age that is removed from anything supernatural (like zombies, or mechs). I mean, we've got simulations where you drive tractors and harvest corn. Why not have a game where you simulate the experiences of a modern soldier?
Except for the food. You do not want to simulate army food. Or what happens after you manage to actually consume army food.