War Thunder

What the game is

War Thunder is a free-to-play military MMO from Gaijin Entertainment, released on August 15, 2013. You fight in vehicles: planes, attack helicopters, tanks and other ground vehicles, and warships. The roster has more than 3,000 machines, from the early 20th century to modern combat units, modeled on historical documents and surviving sources. Battles take place on 100 maps based on major historical theaters of war.

How it plays

The core idea is combined arms. In some modes, aircraft, ground forces and ships share the same battle. One match might have you firing from a bomber turret, the next covering teammates with anti-aircraft guns, launching rocket salvos at enemy planes or hunting a warship with a torpedo boat.

You choose how demanding the game is. Arcade Battles are built for fast action, Realistic Battles are more tactical, and Simulator Battles are aimed at hardcore players. Progression runs through research: battles earn experience, and experience unlocks new vehicles and upgrades in the tech tree.

There's more than PvP. The PvE side includes historical and dynamic campaigns, solo missions and a mission editor. Regular updates add vehicles, maps, missions and nations. If you make custom content, you can share it on War Thunder Live, and the Revenue Share Partner System gives creators a chance to earn real money from it.

Who it's for

• Fans of military history and hardware who care about specific aircraft, tank and ship models.
• PvP players who want to start with quick arcade matches and work up to simulator-level fights.
• Groups of friends. The game supports co-op, and crossplay puts Windows PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation and Xbox players on the same servers.

What to know before you start

The game is free and has in-game purchases, including premium accounts, vehicles and customization.

Minimum PC requirements on Steam:

• OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
• CPU: dual-core 2.2 GHz
• RAM: 4 GB
• GPU: DirectX 11 card, AMD Radeon 77XX / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
• Storage: 70 GB

The specs are modest, but check your free disk space before you download. The game also has Russian voice-over.