Arma 3 DLC Guide: Official Expansions and Creator Packs

Arma 3 already has a huge tactical sandbox, but its DLC library is where the game gets wider, stranger, and occasionally full of go-karts. The add-ons fall into two broad groups: official Bohemia releases and Creator DLC made by community developers through the official program.

Arma 3 DLC Packs Compared

The sections below cover the major packs, what they add, and the prices listed in the source material. Store prices can shift during sales, so check Steam before buying.

Official DLC

Zeus

Zeus is a free DLC released on April 10, 2014. It adds a Game Master style mode where one player can build, adjust, and expand missions while others play through them.

The result is Arma 3 with a tabletop flavor. The Zeus player can introduce objectives, enemies, story beats, and complications while the mission is already running, which keeps multiplayer sessions less predictable.

Watch the Arma 3 Zeus trailer.

Karts

Karts is a paid DLC listed at $1.99 in the source. It adds 20hp four-stroke go-karts, dedicated helmets, and a racetrack for time trials or races with friends.

It also includes a racetrack safety coordinator with a special starting revolver. Is it tactical? Not especially. Is it a useful reminder that even military sandboxes need silly weekends? Absolutely.

Watch the Arma 3 Karts trailer.

Jets

Jets is a paid DLC listed at $9.99. It expands fixed-wing combat with aircraft such as the To-201 Shikra, A-149 Gryphon, and F/A-181 Black Wasp II.

The pack also adds supporting systems, including a sensor overhaul and dynamic vehicle loadouts, making air combat and mission planning more flexible.

Watch the Arma 3 Jets trailer.

Helicopters

The Helicopters DLC is the rotor-wing counterpart to Jets. It is listed at $9.99 and adds aircraft such as the Mi-290 Taru heavy-lift helicopter and the CH-67 Huron.

Pilots can also test their handling in four time trials, where clean flying matters more than simply arriving with most of the helicopter still attached.

Watch the Arma 3 Helicopters trailer.

Marksmen

Marksmen is a paid weapons-focused DLC listed at $9.99. It adds rifles such as the ASP-1 Kir and Mk-I EMR.

The DLC also introduces weapon resting and improved firearm audio, which makes long-range engagements feel more deliberate and grounded.

Watch the Arma 3 Marksmen trailer.

Apex

Apex is a full paid expansion listed at $24.99 for premium content. It adds Tanoa, a lush South Pacific terrain, plus new vehicles, weapons, uniforms, gear, factions, and campaigns.

Premium highlights include:

• Tanoa: A tropical map with dense vegetation, landmarks, and its own history.
• Vehicles: New options such as the V-44 X Blackfish and Y-32 Xi'an VTOL.
• Faction: Syndikat, an armed criminal organization made up of thugs and ex-paramilitaries.
• Weapons: Firearms such as the AKM and AK-12 assault rifles.
• Gear: New uniforms and equipment tied to the Syndikat faction.
• Apex Protocol: A co-op campaign set on Tanoa during a humanitarian crisis.
• Old Man: A single-player campaign about a retired Legionnaire investigating a malaria outbreak.

Apex also delivered a large set of free updates. These include Arma 3 Units integration, campaign unification for The East Wind, modding support updates, new control presets, a difficulty overhaul, Eden Editor improvements, environmental audio changes, launcher upgrades, limping, Nexus Update features, optimizations, Quick Play, a better respawn menu, squad communication tools, targeting improvements, task updates, vehicle-in-vehicle transport, visual upgrades, weapon switching improvements, the Gendarmerie faction, Pacific NATO and CSAT reinforcements, South Pacific camo variants, new character appearances, French and Chinese radio protocols, new props, a Tanoa Zeus scenario, 13 Steam achievements, and the Apex soundtrack.

Watch the Arma 3 Apex trailer.

Laws of War

Laws of War is a paid DLC listed at $9.99. Its focus is humanitarian response, unexploded ordnance, and the International Development & Aid Project faction.

Premium content includes:

• IDAP: A non-governmental humanitarian faction.
• Vehicles: Vans plus utility and demining drones.
• APERS: An area denial weapon system.
• Gear: Safety vests, hard hats, messenger bags, and related equipment.
• Remnants of War: A mini-campaign starring IDAP explosives specialist Nathan MacDade.

Free content includes mine improvements, refined cluster strikes, unexploded ordnance behavior, leaflet drops from the Utility Drone, and Field Manual information about the Laws of Armed Conflict.

Supporting content includes Showcase IDAP, an IDAP training program, aircraft-deployed cluster bombs, decorative objects such as shelters and furniture, and Steam achievements.

Watch the Arma 3 Laws of War trailer.

Malden

Malden is a free DLC that reimagines the classic Malden terrain from the first Arma game. It reuses and adapts Arma 3 assets, including structures and vegetation.

The DLC also adds Combat Patrol, a quick cooperative multiplayer mode, plus new buildings, an official soundtrack, and Escape from Malden/Tanoa survival content.

Watch the Arma 3 Malden trailer.

Tac-Ops Mission Pack

The Tac-Ops Mission Pack was released on November 30, 2017. Its premium content is listed at $5.99 and centers on handcrafted single-player operations rather than a large equipment drop.

Premium operations include Beyond Hope, Stepping Stone, and Steel Pegasus. The pack also includes After Action Report videos that let players review mission highlights and learn from tactical choices.

Tac-Ops adds its soundtrack, Steam achievements, and scripted systems for scenario creators.

Watch the Arma 3 Tac-Ops trailer.

Tanks

Tanks launched on April 11, 2018. The paid content is listed at $9.99 and adds premium tracked vehicles such as the T-140 Angara, AWX Nyx, and Rhino MGS.

Players can also take roles such as AAF tank commander or NATO crewman in new missions.

Free additions include the 9M135 Vorona, MAAWS Mk4, other anti-tank weapons, a CSAT protective tanker helmet, Steam achievements, the Tanks soundtrack, and decorative objects.

Supporting systems include fully modeled 3D interiors for armored vehicles, improved vehicle handling, more realistic reactions to incoming rounds, better audio, armored vehicle customization, new missile profiles, and the Vanguard game mode.

Watch the Arma 3 Tanks trailer.

Contact

Contact is a paid spin-off expansion listed at $27.99. It brings Arma 3 into first-contact territory with a new terrain, new factions, weapons, vehicles, gear, and both premium and free content.

Premium content includes:

• First Contact: A single-player campaign about extraterrestrial visitors.
• Livonia: A large terrain built for combined arms warfare.
• Factions: The Livonian Defense Force and Russian Spetsnaz.
• Weapons: The RPK-12, AKU-12, Mk14 Classic Hunting Rifle, and Kozlice Shotgun.
• Vehicles: ED-1 Mini UGV variants.
• Gear: Oversuits in multiple colors and camouflage patterns, plus the Spectrum Device for receiving signals or jamming frequencies.

Free content includes extra multiplayer scenarios, NATO Woodland camouflage, civilian clothing, the Contact soundtrack, and more than 100 decorative and terrain objects.

Watch the Arma 3 Contact trailer.

Choosing an Arma 3 DLC

Pick the DLC based on what changes the sessions you actually play. Zeus is the obvious free choice for groups that like improvised missions. Jets and Helicopters are best for players who spend time in the air, while Marksmen suits infantry squads that care about longer-range weapon handling. Apex and Contact are broader expansions because they add terrains, factions, campaigns, vehicles, and gear. Laws of War is more specialized, but it adds unusual mission tools around humanitarian work, mines, drones, and unexploded ordnance. Tac-Ops is better for players who want curated single-player operations instead of a big equipment catalog. Tanks is the pack to consider when armored warfare is the main event.

Creator DLC

Global Mobilization

Global Mobilization - Cold War Germany was the first Creator DLC for Arma 3. It is listed at $22.99 and focuses on Cold War conflict between West Germany and East Germany.

The pack includes more than 80 vehicles and over 30 weapons from the period, giving mission makers plenty of Cold War hardware to break in carefully.

S.O.G. Prairie Fire

S.O.G. Prairie Fire is a paid Creator DLC listed at $22.99. It places players in the Vietnam War with a custom campaign, historical weapons, and period vehicles.

The campaign drops players directly into combat scenarios where equipment choice and team coordination matter.

CSLA Iron Curtain

CSLA Iron Curtain is listed at $12.99. It is set in an alternate 1980s Czechoslovakia and adds a mountainous terrain, Cold War locations, and new combat scenarios.

The pack leans into the atmosphere of life behind the barbed wire, minus the part where that sounds relaxing.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara is listed at $6.99. It takes players to the desert dunes of Argana in 2036 as private military contractors.

The DLC includes eight new rifles, 12 new vehicles, and five factions, giving Arma 3 a compact desert sandbox with plenty of room for contracts, patrols, and bad decisions made in good sunlight.