#warthunder under #wt #wtf #GG
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat multiplayer video game developed and published by Gaijin Entertainment. Announced in 2011, it was first released in November 2012 as an open beta with a worldwide release in January 2013; it had its official release on 21 December 2016.[11][7] It has a cross-platform format for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Oculus, and Vive. A spinoff game called War Thunder Mobile (also known as War Thunder Edge[12]) is under development for iOS and Android devices.
Developed as a “flying simulation game”, it was previously named World of Planes, but due to its similarity with Wargaming’s World of Warplanes, it was changed to its present name in 2012.[13][14] Initially, Gaijin claimed after the game was announced that it was an April Fools joke before confirming its existence in June that same year.[15]
War Thunder won several awards following its release, winning Best Simulation Game at the Gamescom 2013 Awards as well as winning Best Game, Best Developer, Best Technology and Best Sound at the KRI 2013 Awards.[16][17] In 2019, War Thunder was among the most played games on Steam with over 25,000 concurrent players on Steam only.[18] In 2023, the number of concurrent War Thunder players on Steam only was over 75,000 on average and peaked at 97,939 on Feb 12, 2023.[19] These numbers do not include console players or PC players using the Gaijin.net service.
As of November 1, 2022, War Thunder had over 70 million registered players on all platforms combined, out of which 160,000 play concurrently.[20]
Gameplay
War Thunder is based around combined arms battles on air, land, and sea.[21] Vehicles range from pre-World War I (ships only)[22] to modern day,[23] with an emphasis on World War II,[24][25] the Vietnam War, and the Cold War.[26] Players can control aircraft, ground vehicles, and warships from the United States, Germany, Russia, Britain, France, and Japan, as well as nations with smaller militaries or less prominence in conflicts, such as Italy, China, Sweden and Israel. The game also incorporates other nations like Finland, South Africa, Australia, Canada, Turkey, Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Romania.
Vehicles are divided into three main categories: aviation, ground, and fleet, while game modes are divided between arcade, realistic, and simulator.[27] Aviation is divided between fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, fleet is divided between “Bluewater”[note 1] and “Coastal”.[note 2][28] A single-player mode that focuses on historical battles, and a co-op mode for battling AI ground vehicles and aircraft, are also available.[27]
Events
Events in War Thunder provide custom missions, usually based on one of the three main game modes, but with alternative settings regarding allowed vehicles, mission specifics, etc. Examples are the recreation of historical battles by restricting available vehicles (e.g., Battle of Britain).
Traditionally, the developers prepare unconventional events for April Fools’ Day. It is a well-known open secret[citation needed] that these events are used to test planned game mechanics before their broader release to the player base.[citation needed]
For 2015, a new game mode called “Unrealistic Battles” featured inflatable rubber tanks firing potatoes and carrots.[29] The “tanks” also had overall hitpoints instead of the usual separate modules, parodying the gameplay of World of Tanks, a big competitor to War Thunder.
For 2016, ahead of the announcement of the naval forces update, War Thunder offered playable 18th-century sailing ships fighting in the Caribbean.[30]
For 2017, War Thunder made playable rank IX main battle tanks and attack helicopters. Available vehicles were the Leopard 2A5, AH-64 Apache (Designated as GM-64 and operated by Germany in-game), Gepard, T-90A, Mi-35 Hind-E and ZSU-23-4 Shilka.[31]
The 2018 event, named “Silent Thunder”, was based underwater, with submarines.
The 2019 event, named “Earth Thunder”, took place in a fictional American city named “Green Hills” and had players use UFOs.[32]
In 2020, Gaijin changed the name of the game to “Space Thunder”, featuring space battles.[33]
In 2021, Gaijin held 2 events, “Tailspin” and “Warfare 2077”. Tailspin was a game mode that took place on a map called “Cape Somerset Bay” that had a cartoon art style. Players took control of new planes belonging to the “Republic of Air Pirates” faction.[34] Warfare 2077 was a futuristic game mode that took place on the “Launch Facility” map and allowed the players to take control of futuristic tanks and unmanned aerial vehicles, teasing the September 2022 addition of drones to the game.[35]
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