War Thunder: The Ultimate Guide to Tanks, Planes and Ships

A short deck: everything you need to know about War Thunder — the free-to-play, cross-platform combat game where history meets high-octane action.

War Thunder is a free-to-play, cross-platform combat game developed by Gaijin Entertainment. It puts you in the pilot's seat or the commander's chair of thousands of historically accurate vehicles — from biplanes of World War I to modern main battle tanks — and drops you into battles across land, air and sea. What makes it stand out is the sheer scale: hundreds of nations, hundreds of vehicle lines, and a progression system that rewards both skill and patience.

Most combat games pick one era or one domain. War Thunder does all of them at once. You can fly a Spitfire in 1940, then hop into a T-34 the same afternoon, and by evening you're commanding a destroyer in a naval engagement. The shared progression system — Research Points and Silver Lions — means every vehicle you unlock across all three branches builds toward a single, unified goal: the highest Battle Ratings.

The game also supports a mix of casual and hardcore players. Casual modes like Arcade and Realistic give you a gentle on-ramp, while the Sim mode demands real knowledge of ballistics, fuel management and engine damage. Whether you want to pull off a 10-kill air streak or methodically destroy a tank column, War Thunder has a mode for you.

War Thunder's three domains each have their own feel. Ground combat is about positioning, terrain and the element of surprise — a well-placed tank can hold a chokepoint for minutes. Air combat rewards situational awareness, energy management and the ability to read your opponent's intentions a second before they act. Naval combat is slower and more strategic, with long-range gunnery, torpedo runs and the constant threat of air attack.

One of the most satisfying parts of the game is the crossover: a single battle can involve all three domains at once. You might be flying a fighter while a tank column advances below you and a destroyer provides naval gunfire support. The coordination between players makes these battles feel genuinely epic.

War Thunder's economy revolves around two currencies. Silver Lions are earned in battle and used to repair vehicles, buy ammunition and pay for crew training. Research Points are earned based on your performance and are spent to unlock new vehicles. Gold is a premium currency that can be bought with real money or earned through events, and it unlocks premium vehicles, additional crew slots and cosmetic items.

The game is genuinely free-to-play. You can progress through every vehicle tree using only earned currency. Premium vehicles are a convenience, not a requirement — they earn more Silver Lions per battle, which speeds up progression, but they do not give a mechanical advantage in combat.