2K is letting everyone play Civilization 5 for free this week to celebrate the launch of Civilization: Beyond Earth.

Civilization 5 is available to download and play for free through 10AM Pacific on Thursday October 23, 2K has announced.

Civilization: Beyond Earth is also now available to pre-load on Steam for those who have it pre-ordered. The exact unlock times for the game has been posted on the game's Facebook page.

The game is out October 24, on Linux, Mac and PC.

Thanks, Gamespot.