In celebration of the game’s tenth anniversary, EA and DICE have made Battlefield 1942 available for free via Origin. The game is available for download now in the demos section of Origin.

“When we launched Battlefield 1942 ten years ago, we had lofty ambitions to create a first-person shooter that would push the boundaries of innovation, creativity and design,” said Karl Magnus Troedsson, General Manager of DICE. “We evolved the FPS gameplay formula by introducing the world to all-out warfare via land, air and sea. Since the beginning, the reception to the Battlefield series has been incredible thanks to our amazing fans. Every day, we strive to provide our community with great games and new ways to play as evident with Battlefield 3 Premium. We wanted to thank our fans who have supported us throughout the years by restoring Battlefield 1942 for a digital re-release and give everyone a chance to play the game that started it all.”

EA doesn’t have a new military shooter out this year to compete with Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. There was Medal of Honor Warfighter, but that game received poor reviews that weren’t even related to the massive day-one patch gamers had to download to make the game playable.

So, instead of marketing Warfighter, EA is pushing subscriptions to its Battlefield 3 Premium service, which gives players access to new maps, weapons, vehicles, and game modes. The publisher announced as part of its second quarter financial results that it has already gotten 2 million Battlefield players to fork over $50 for the service.