Battlefield 1942 is a 2002 first-person shooter game created by Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It is the first game in the Battlefield series. Players can choose to play alone against computer-controlled opponents or compete against other players online or on a local network. The game is widely used by players who create changes to the game, such as new features or themes.

In the game, players take on one of five infantry roles: Scout, Assault, Anti-Tank, Medic, or Engineer. Players can also control various World War II vehicles, including fighter planes, bombers, ships, submarines, tanks, and jeeps. They can operate anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, and manage coastal artillery defenses.

Each battle takes place on maps set in famous World War II battlefields across major areas of the war, such as the Pacific, European, North African, Eastern, and Italian Fronts. Combat occurs between the Axis powers and the Allies. The map location determines which specific armies are used (for example, the Wake Island map features Japan versus the United States, while the El Alamein map shows Germany versus the United Kingdom). The maps are based on real battles and are shown in a realistic way.

When it was released, Battlefield 1942 received mostly positive reviews, with praise for its unique gameplay, multiplayer features, and World War II setting. The game sold over 3 million copies by 2004. After its release, it led to many follow-up games, forming the Battlefield series. Today, Battlefield 1942 is considered one of the best video games ever made.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Battlefield 1942 focuses more on working together than earlier games in this series. Players must not only defeat opponents but also capture and hold specific "control points" on the map. Capturing these points allows a team’s players and vehicles to join the game in that area. It also limits the enemy team’s ability to bring more players into the game. Battlefield 1942 was one of the first popular first-person shooter games to encourage teamwork and coordination instead of individual play.

The default game mode, Conquest, involves capturing "control points" that act as locations where players can rejoin the game, called "spawn points." Each round has a time limit, and both teams start with a set number of "tickets." These tickets are used when players on a team rejoin the game. If a team does not control any spawn points, its members cannot rejoin the game unless they capture one. A team loses the match if it runs out of tickets or has no spawn points left.

Teams lose tickets when their members are killed. They also lose tickets at a fixed rate if the opposing team controls more capture points. The bigger the difference in captured points, the faster the losing team loses tickets. This encourages teams to focus on capturing and defending control points. A match ends when one team kills all members of the opposing team, either by reducing their tickets to zero or taking away their spawn points. Sometimes, players on a losing team may hide instead of fighting when their team has no tickets or spawn points left, forcing the winning team to search for them before the round ends.

Players can choose to play as either the Allied team or the Axis team. The Allies include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Soviet Union. The Axis team includes Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. No matter which team a player joins, they can choose from five infantry roles: Scout, Assault, Medic, Anti-tank, and Engineer.

Each role has different strengths and weaknesses. For example, the Scout can see enemies from far away, has strong attacks, and can help other players by spotting enemies for artillery. The Assault role is best at fighting enemies up close and at medium distances. The Anti-tank role is good at attacking tanks and vehicles but struggles to hit moving enemies. The Medic can heal injured players, including themselves, but has a weaker weapon than the Assault role. The Engineer can repair damaged vehicles and weapons, and can place explosives that harm both enemy soldiers and vehicles, as well as land mines that destroy enemy vehicles when they touch them.

Development

In 2000, DICE purchased Refraction Games, the creators of Codename Eagle, and took over the development of Battlefield 1942, which was already in progress. The game was first planned by DICE as a title exclusive to the GameCube console. Although Nintendo was interested in the proposal, discussions did not continue because Nintendo did not have a plan for online features. Battlefield 1942 was created by a team of 14 people at Digital Illusions. The game was based on the earlier, less well-known Codename Eagle, which was set in an alternate version of World War I. It included both single-player and multiplayer modes. The Refractor 1 engine used for the game had more fun, less realistic physics compared to Refractor 2, which was later used in Battlefield 2. A version of Battlefield 1942 compatible with Macintosh computers was released by Aspyr Media in mid-2004. An Xbox version of the game was announced in early 2001 but was canceled nearly two years later so Electronic Arts could focus on creating an expansion pack for the PC version.

Expansions

Two expansion packs were released for Battlefield 1942: Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome and Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII. The Road to Rome added the Italian Front, allowing players to fight as the Free French forces or the Royal Italian Army. Secret Weapons of WWII introduced new and unusual weapons and vehicles, such as jet packs, and added special groups to the German and British Armies, called German Elite Troops and British Commandos. Updates to the base game fixed problems and added extra content, like the Battle of Britain map. The Battlefield 1942 Deluxe Edition included the original game and The Road to Rome. The Battlefield 1942: World War II Anthology added the Secret Weapons of WWII expansion pack. Later, the Battlefield 1942: The Complete Collection included Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield Vietnam WWII Mod.

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews" from Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews. At the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, Battlefield 1942 won awards for Online Gameplay, Innovation in PC Gaming, PC Game of the Year, and Game of the Year. In March 2010, the game was honored with the "Swedish game of the decade" award at a computer game event hosted by the Swedish Games Industry.

Scott Osborne of GameSpot described the game as a "comic book version of WWII." Later, the publication named it the best computer game of September 2002. Steve Butts of IGN praised the multiplayer experience but noted that the single-player mode was not as strong.

PC Gamer US and Computer Games Magazine named Battlefield 1942 the best multiplayer computer game and best overall computer game of 2002. It tied with No One Lives Forever 2 for the "best overall computer game" award in Computer Games Magazine. The game also won GameSpot’s annual "Best Multiplayer Action Game on PC" and "Biggest Surprise on PC" awards. It was nominated for "Best Graphics (Technical) on PC" and "Game of the Year on PC." PC Gamer US editors called it "the realization of our 'dream PC game'—multiplayer battles where every important part of combat can be played by human teammates and opponents."

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave Battlefield 1942 four awards at the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now called the D.I.C.E. Awards): "Game of the Year," "Computer Game of the Year," "Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming," and "Online Gameplay of the Year." It was also nominated for "Outstanding Achievement in Game Design."

In the United States, Battlefield 1942 sold 680,000 copies and earned $27.1 million by August 2006. At that time, Edge ranked it as the 18th best-selling computer game in the U.S. since January 2000. Combined sales of all Battlefield computer games, including Battlefield 1942, reached 2.7 million units in the U.S. by August 2006. In December 2002, the game received a "Gold" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD), showing sales of at least 100,000 units in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. By July 2004, the game had sold more than 3 million copies worldwide.

Franchise

Battlefield 1942 was the first game in the Battlefield series and led to many sequels and spin-offs set in different war periods. Some releases include Battlefield Vietnam in 2004, Battlefield 2 in 2005, Battlefield 2142 in 2006, Battlefield 1943 in 2009, Battlefield: Bad Company in 2008, Battlefield 3 in 2011, Battlefield 4 in 2013, Battlefield Hardline, a game about police and robbers, in 2015, Battlefield 1, which is based on World War I, in 2016, Battlefield V, the first game since Battlefield 1943 to focus on World War II battles, and the first since Battlefield 1942 to take place in a World War II area outside the Pacific Ocean, in 2018, Battlefield 2042 in 2021, and Battlefield 6 in 2025. All of these games were developed by DICE, with Battlefield Hardline created by Visceral Games. Other companies, such as Criterion Games, EA Gothenburg, and Ripple Effect Studios, also helped with development.

Mods

In October 2004, a public statement from EA mentioned the game's modding community.

Like Half-Life and other popular first-person shooter (FPS) games, Battlefield 1942 led to the creation of many modifications (mods). Most of these mods were not completed and were abandoned without a public release. Some mods had only small changes, such as different gameplay features or loading screens, while others were total conversions that changed the game's content and gameplay significantly. A few mods became very popular and are nearly complete games on their own. Early Battlefield 1942 mods were made without a special tool called a software development kit. Later, EA released a "Mod Development Kit" and "Battlefield Mod Development Toolkit" to help mod creators. With the release of Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield 2, some mods were updated or continued development for these games. Battlefield Vietnam used an improved version of the Refractor 2 game engine. Some mods switched to other games, such as Söldner: Secret Wars and Half-Life 2, while others released standalone games after completing their Battlefield 1942 mod, such as Eve of Destruction – REDUX and FinnWars.

• Battlefield 1918: A mod set during World War I, first released in 2004. As of December 2022, it is still being developed. Battlefield 1918 was noted as an inspiration for Battlefield 1 by DICE employee Lars Gustavsson in a 2016 interview.
• Battlefield Interstate 1982: Mentioned in a 2003 article titled "Free PC Games" by 1UP.ORG.
• Battle G.I. Joe: Reviewed by Michael Klappenbach on About.com. Hasbro contacted the mod creators about intellectual property (IP) issues, as noted in "Am I Mod or Not?" (Nieborg, 2005).
• Desert Combat: Created by Trauma Studios, it won FilePlanet's Best Mod of 2003 Award and was praised in PC Magazine and PC Gamer. The mod was influenced by the Iraq War, which increased its online visibility. Desert Combat had two additional mods: DC Extended and Desert Combat Realism, as noted in "Am I Mod or Not?" (Nieborg, 2005).
• Eve Of Destruction: Won PC Gamer's 2003 Mod of the Year Award. It was praised for its quality before Battlefield Vietnam was developed.
• Experience WWII: Described in PC Gamer as having significant changes to make the game historically accurate, which affected gameplay.
• FinnWars: Featured in Pelit magazine (issue 9/2005) and PC Pelaaja (2007). The mod is based on the Winter and Continuation Wars between Finland and the Soviet Union, as well as the Lapland War between Finland and Nazi Germany.
• Forgotten Hope: A 2003 mod focused on historical accuracy, including over 250 authentic pieces of World War II equipment. It won the Macologist Mod of the Year Award in 2006 after being adapted for Mac computers. It was followed by a 2006 sequel for Battlefield 2 called Forgotten Hope 2.
• Galactic Conquest: Allowed the use of LucasArts' Star Wars universe materials, as noted in "Am I Mod or Not?" (Nieborg, 2005). It was mentioned in Edge magazine (April 2004) and reviewed on TechTV's X-Play show in 2004.
• HydroRacers: Reviewed in PC Zone (2004) by Tony Lamb and in the Madison Courier (June 2004).
• Siege: Studied by Utrecht University for its original concept and medieval warfare theme, as noted in "Am I Mod or Not?" (Nieborg, 2005).
• SilentHeroes: Won the PC ACTION-Super Mod Award in the July 2006 edition of the German gaming magazine PC ACTION. It was also featured on Norwegian and Swedish media websites, including VG, Aftonbladet, and IDG.
• Who Dares Wins: Reviewed in the August 2005 UK edition of PC Gamer magazine. A copy of version 0.2 was included with the magazine on a DVD-ROM.