War Thunder cover art
Cover: Steam / Gaijin Entertainment

War Thunder — Latest Updates & Patch Notes

War Thunder is currently the #11 most-played game on Steam, with a 24-hour peak of 88K concurrent players — ▼ cooling off (was #10 last week).

Last official update Jun 3, 2026 (today) · 12 updates in the last 90 days · 12 tracked here.

Steam rank
#11
Peak (24h)
88K
Genre
Action, Massively Multiplayer, Simulation
Developer
Gaijin Entertainment
Released
Aug 15, 2013
Price
Free to Play
Metacritic
81
Steam reviews
2K

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.

View War Thunder on Steam →

Latest updates & patch notes

  1. News

    Comparison of Missile Parameters & Improved Tracking on the Minimap!

    Today we’re continuing our coverage of the new features coming in the upcoming major update, this time focusing on aircraft weapons! Comparison of missilesRecently, we added a ballistic comparison interface and armor penetration curves at different ranges to the Protection…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  2. Patch

    Update 2.55.1.142

    SoundThe ability to use sound mods has been temporarily disabled in the WIP client. Thank you to everyone who tested sound mods on the WIP client; thanks to your help, we have found some issues, including client crashes. Because of this, we’ve had to postpone the enabling of…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  3. News

    Meet the New Senrai Maidens Heroines in the Cold Pursuit Episode!

    The Senrai Maidens squad faces a new threat: operatives Emily, Ling, and Usagi must thwart the nefarious plans of a mysterious PMC and stop a train hurtling straight toward a cliff! The second episode of the Senrai Maidens adventures, “Cold Pursuit”, follows an elite team that…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  4. News

    Wings Over Water: Spitfire Mk Vb Floatplane — Going Full Circle!

    A long requested Spitfire variant joins the game with the return of a rather legendary pilot! Spitfire Mk Vb Floatplane: A Premium Fighter / Hydroplane for Great Britain at Rank IIAt a glance: Legendary fighter floatplaneSolid offensive armamentDecent flight performanceOne very…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  5. News

    Rewards for Crashed Aircraft!

    Today we’re looking at some changes to how aircraft rewards operate when an enemy aircraft crashes without taking any damage. Let’s get into it! How this new mechanic worksSometimes you’re dogfighting an enemy, but they crash without you doing any damage to them. In real life, a…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  6. News

    Washington B.1: A Friend in Need

    A legendary long range heavy bomber reinforces the heavy bomber gap in the British tree in the next major update! Washington B.1: A Long Range Bomber for Great Britain at Rank VAt a glance:20,000 lbs of ordnance! Remote controlled weapon stationsSolid defensive weapon…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  7. Patch

    The New Update in Progress: Detailed X-Ray and New MFD Screens

    Today we’d like to cover the improved aircraft damage models and new multifunctional display screens (MFD) that we’re preparing for the next War Thunder update. More Detailed Aircraft Damage ModelsOur work on each update not only involves creating new vehicles, but also bringing…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  8. News

    Discounts on Turkish Vehicles and a Decal Trophy for Turkish Air Force Day!

    On June 1st 1911, the first air squadrons were established in the Ottoman Empire. They were used for reconnaissance and bombing during the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, one of the earliest combat uses of aircraft. Today, the Turkish Air Force is one of the largest in NATO, with…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  9. Event

    Get the Spitfire Mk Vb (Float) in the Wings Over Water Event!

    The Spitfire Mk V was one of the most widely produced British fighters in the Second World War. It entered service in 1941 and served until the end of the war, taking part in D-Day. However, it also had an experimental, little-known floatplane version, planned for use on the…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  10. News

    Screenshot Competition – Along the Waterline!

    Welcome to the 226th War Thunder Steam Screenshot Competition! Thanks for submitting all of your fantastic screenshots last week, we enjoyed getting to take a look at them! This week, your screenshots must feature a body of water such as lakes, rivers, or oceans. Any vehicle can…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  11. Patch

    Update 2.55.1.137

    AircraftB-52H — a bug that made it impossible to switch to the gunner if the “Camera from aircraft gunner sight” setting was disabled has been fixed. (Report). SoundTechnical support for sound mods is ready. First, we need to do some additional testing in the WIP client before…

    Read the full notes on Steam →
  12. News

    Palmaria: The Island-Sized Slingshot

    The Palmaria is an Italian self-propelled howitzer developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by OTO Melara primarily for foreign operators on the basis of the OF-40 main battle tank. Palmaria: A Tank Destroyer (SPG) for Italy at Rank IV At a glance: Powerful 155 mm…

    Read the full notes on Steam →

Screenshots

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About War Thunder

War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, 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, fighting with millions of players from all over the world in an ever-evolving environment. In War Thunder, aircraft, attack helicopters, ground forces and naval ships collaborate in realistic competitive battles. You can choose from over 3,000 vehicles and an extensive variety of combat situations many of which are exclusive. You can find yourself blasting your pursuers from…

Game details

System requirements (minimum)
Minimum: OS: Windows 10 (64bit) Processor: Dual-Core 2.2 GHz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: DirectX 11 level video card: AMD Radeon 77XX / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660. The minimum supported resolution for the game is 720p. DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 70 GB available space VR Support: SteamVR. Keyboard or gamepad required
Languages
English * , German * , French * , Italian * , Spanish - Spain * , Simplified Chinese, Russian * , Japanese * , Polish * , Czech * , Turkish * , Portuguese - Portugal, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil, Hungarian, Ukrainian…
Controller
Full controller support
DLC
40 available on Steam
Official site
warthunder.com/

Frequently asked questions

Is War Thunder free to play?
Yes — War Thunder is free to play on Steam.
What is the latest War Thunder update?
The most recent official update is "Comparison of Missile Parameters & Improved Tracking on the Minimap!" (Jun 3, 2026), categorized as News. Today we’re continuing our coverage of the new features coming in the upcoming major update, this time focusing on aircraft weapons! Comparison of missilesRecently, we added a ballistic comparison interface and armor penetration curves at different ranges to the Protection…
How many people play War Thunder?
War Thunder peaked at 88K concurrent players in the last 24 hours, ranking #11 on Steam's most-played chart (it was #10 the previous week).
When was War Thunder released?
War Thunder was released on Aug 15, 2013 by Gaijin Entertainment.
What kind of game is War Thunder?
War Thunder is a Action, Massively Multiplayer, Simulation, Free To Play game, featuring single-player, multi-player, mmo.

Live player counts and update notes are pulled from Steam's public data and refreshed daily (last refresh: Jun 4, 2026). Excerpts are from official announcements; follow the source links for full notes. War Thunder and all related assets are trademarks of their respective owners.