E3 2011: ArmA 2 Free announced

Fans of Bohemia Interactive's ArmA first person shooter series will soon be able to play the online multiplayer portion of the game for the price of zero. Today at E3 2011 the team has announced plans to release ArmA 2 Free, a stand alone game that will be released for free later this June. And when we say free we mean it; there will be no micro-transactions or premium services in this game and no credit card will be required

What you get for free is access to the game's full multiplayer content with its massive maps and support for up to 50 online players or a ton of AI opponents. ArmA 2 Free will also give you access to over 300 different weapons, items and vehicles found in the game. You will also gain access to free dedicated servers for both Windows and Linux OS platforms. The game's mission editor is also available to create your own missions along with access to scripting.

So what don't you get in ArmA 2 Free? Well, the game's single player campaign has been removed. ArmA 2 Free also doesn't have access to the main game's "HD" graphics options so expect some kind of reduction in the game's visuals. While you can create and share new missions, there won't be support for user created ArmA 2 mods. Finally content from ArmA 2's various expansion packs (Operation Arrowhead among others) is not included in ArmA 2 Free.