War Thunder ▶ Trailer
War Thunder screenshot 1War Thunder screenshot 2
ActionMassively MultiplayerSimulationFree To PlayVehicular CombatCombatFlightVRWorld War II

43,294 playing#21 on Steam by players#21 on Steam

Peak in the last 24 hours: 85,271

Peak in the last 7 days: 107,231

War Thunder Steam store

Game description

War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea.

Basic info

DeveloperGaijin Entertainment
PublisherGaijin Network Ltd
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateAug 15, 2013
Price

Minimum specs

OSWindows 10 (64bit)
ProcessorDual-Core 2.2 GHz
Memory4 GB
GraphicsDirectX 11 level video card: AMD Radeon 77XX / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660. The minimum suppor…
Storage70 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 336 reviews from the past 1 year

54.0/ 100
Bottom 5%

Steam rating: Mostly Positive (71%)

Metacritic: 81 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 11, 2026)

A loop they cannot quit and a business model they resent sum up War Thunder for its players, at 54.0 from 795,599 Steam reviews.

👍 Strengths

89 reviews call the gameplay addictive even while criticizing its monetization, and 20 praise the detailed look of its vehicle models. Players also point to a huge range of tanks, planes, helicopters and ships, and some enjoy finding a skill bracket where matches feel fair and engaging.

👎 Where it falls short

Pricing & Fairness ranks 1387th of 1399, raised in 60% of analyzed reviews. 87 reviews say a free game ends up costing money, with paid boosters pushing players into harder matches. 69 feel Russian tanks are overpowered, and 27 call the grind excessive and tedious. Gameplay ranks 1393rd of 1396, and others describe support staff who issued bans without a fair review. Multiplayer ranks 623rd of 642, Content Volume ranks 1106th of 1351, and some say it has cost them their peace of mind as well as money.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“addictive gameplay loop despite deceptive monetization and frustration” · 89 reviews
“support agent ignored evidence and issued final ban without fair review” · 22 reviews
“models are amazingly detailed” · 20 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 48% of reviews · Bottom 1% of the games we've analyzed

Progression -3.57 · Leveling, unlocks and gear — is growth rewarding or a grind?
Negative “grind is excessive and tedious” · 27 reviews
Positive “simple progression without requiring donations since 2021” · 1 review

Difficulty 12% · Onboarding 5% · Freedom 3% · Strategy 10% · Controls & feel 6%

Plot, characters and the world

Not enough data — only 5% of reviews mention this.

World +1.43 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is

Story 1% · Characters 0%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 16% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Variety -2.30 · Fresh content and situations versus repetition
Negative “same game modes and vehicles repeated, no meaningful new content” · 4 reviews
Positive “diverse tank variety is impressive” · 2 reviews

Volume 6% · Replayability 1%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 14% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +2.98 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “models are amazingly detailed” · 20 reviews

Audio 5%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 21% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Community -2.50 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly
Negative “toxic Russian players, military document leaks” · 2 reviews
Positive “low-tier matches have active player base and AI fill options” · 1 review

Playing together 9% · Servers & Connection 6%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 60% of reviews · Bottom 1% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -1.53 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “Russian tanks overpowered regardless of reverse speed or armor depression” · 69 reviews
Positive “Russian aircraft dominate the sky, diverse vehicle effectiveness mentioned” · 1 review

Anti-cheat 3% · Pricing 47% · Matchmaking 14%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 28% of reviews · Bottom 20% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.71 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “support agent ignored evidence and issued final ban without fair review” · 22 reviews

Stability 8% · Performance 5%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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