Bohemia reclaims first Op. Flashpoint

The first game in Codemasters' Operation Flashpoint series is returning from the dead, courtesy of original developer Bohemia Interactive.

First released back in 2001, Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis has recently been discontinued by the publisher. However, Bohemia, which was franchise custodian until Codemasters controversially took the series in-house with 2009's Dragon Rising, is now re-releasing it as Arma: Cold War Assault.

As well as the original game, you'll also get the 2002 Resistance expansion pack.

All existing Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis users will be able to download and install it for free. For everyone else, the game will be available through various online stores “in the near future”.

Bohemia's announcement neglected to include any further detail on when and where you'll be able to download it. We've asked for clarification and will update when we get a response.

"After all these years of continuous support and improvements we are delighted to be able to unite our lineup of military simulators for PC under the Arma brand," commented Bohemia CEO Marek Spanel.

"This step will not only avoid potential confusion amongst users and the wider gaming public, but it will also preserve what is now a classic PC game for years to come as it could no longer be available under its original name."

The game snagged a glowing 9/10 in Eurogamer's original Operation Flashpoint review back in 2001.