Bohemia Interactive today announced that it will be changing the name of the main island featured in its upcoming Arma 3. The island will now be known as “Altis,” rather than “Limnos.”
The name change comes after two Bohemia developers, Ivan Buchta and Martin Pezlar, were arrested in Greece last September under charges of espionage and spent 129 days in prison. The two were on vacation on the Greek island of Lemnos, which serves as the inspiration for Altis. Greek authorities accused the developers of photographing military installations. The two were recently released from prison and allowed to return to the Czech Republic, where Bohemia is based.
“As part of the creative process, our virtual environments are often rooted in real-life locations and, during development, they evolve and grow along with our design,” said Joris-Jan van ‘t Land, project lead on Arma 3. “The resulting fictional environment is often close to its inspiration, but it’s never exactly the same – nor would we want it to be. For us, ‘Altis’ echoes the Mediterranean heart of our island, but differentiates it from any undesired real-life connotations.”
Lemnos was chosen as the inspiration for the Arma 3 island after Bohemia CEO Marek Spanel visited the island on vacation. The name change, according to Bohemia, is meant to emphasize that the game is fiction. A smaller Arma 3 island named “Stratis” will be keeping its name.