: A global economic crisis destabilises China, leading the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to seize Skira from Russia for its newly discovered oil reserves.

While official servers are down, the game hasn't been completely abandoned:

: There are reports of players still engaging in online PvP and coop as recently as 2025 and 2026 on platforms like PC (via Steam) and even PS3 .

The "story" of Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising 's online status is one of a "dead" game that has been kept on life support by a dedicated community using workarounds like local coop and third-party tools. The Downfall of Official Multiplayer

The online component essentially "died" shortly after launch because of a series of restrictive decisions by the publisher: