World of Tanks

Watch out America -- your soil is no longer safe from the rampaging treads of World of Tanks! Wargaming.net announced the forthcoming 7.2 update for the game which includes a US twist: an American map called Live Oaks, US tank destroyers, and updates to two of the top-tier American heavy tanks.

Update 7.2 will be arriving in the first quarter of this year, and also contains an Italian map (Campania), an integrated tutorial to help newbies get a handle on the game, and 20 new crew skills.

Lead Game Designer Mike Zhivets is all aglow over 7.2: "We are always happy to introduce new features and game content to our community. Many more new exciting features are on their way and will be introduced in the nearest updates."

You can check out the diesel action in the trailer after the jump!

Continue Reading

Wargaming.net is allowing players to participate in a little revisionist history by unleashing French designs into World of Tanks. Will the Germans finally get what's coming to them, or will the Panzers dominate as they did back in the 40s?

With today's Update 7.1, the French have arrived in the game with several new tanks available for players to drive. Light, medium, and heavy versions of French armor will present a new twist on the established gameplay, with choices like the AMX 13-90, AMX 40, AMX 50 B and Lorraine 40t that feature automatic loading systems and oscillating turrets. Later this year Wargaming.net will add French tank destroyers and SPGs as well.

Lead Game Designer Mike Zhivets believes this will present a unique challenge for players who think they have it all figured out: "Our players already know how to play with the 'big three' tank nations, but the French are all-different. You'll have to reconsider the way you think tanks behave before they let you tame them. And that's what we love them for!"

You can scope out these French beauties in the gallery below.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Wargaming.net has been trumpeting the 7.0 release for its World of Tanks MMO for a while now. Today the company dropped the first hint about what lies beyond with update 7.1, which it will feature the long-awaited introduction of French tanks.

The new tech tree boasts 18 new French fighting vehicles (there's a pacifist joke in there somewhere) divided into light, medium, and heavy flavors. Wargaming.net also says that the French armor will "enrich the combat and bring all-new tactics into the game." We're not sure how the new tactics will work as of yet, but we'll bring you the very latest as the devs make it available.

Finally, Wargaming.net says that French SPGs and tank destroyers are planned for a later update.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Wargaming.net has announced the official release of its seventh major update for World of Tanks. Crazily enough, it's called the 7.0 update, and it features a bundle of new content designed to make little tanker hearts go pitter-patter.

First up are two new game maps, the Swamp and the Fjords, and there's also a bit of tank customization in the offing thanks to new camouflage and various horn effects. Tank company levels are also being tweaked, as are the game's visual effects (including smoke, shots, and explosions that have been tuned to allow for lower system requirements).

If you've ever wanted to relive your multiplayer battles (and you don't have a copy of Fraps handy), you can now save and view replays at will. Finally, new technology will allow for users "to play on any cluster of the server group with same unified account." Head to the official site for more, and don't forget to fire up your patchers to start the update!

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

[UPDATE: All winners have been selected and contacted. Thanks for entering!]

On the third day of giveaways, Wargaming.net gave to me... three premium years!
On the second day of giveaways, BioWare gave to me... two warring factions!
On the first day of giveaways, Turbine gave to me... a lifetime VIP!

Day three of Massively's 12 Days of Giveaways has arrived, and World of Tanks joins our lineup with a bang (har har). The generous team at Wargaming.net has given us three codes, each worth a year of WoT premium account status. Premium account holders enjoy bonuses to XP and credits earned in battle, along with plenty of other perks in game.

The World of Tanks crew has added one more present under our virtual tree, and it's an impressive one. This one is for new players only. If you don't have a World of Tanks account yet, visit our giveaway page and pick up a code for a gift package containing one day of premium access, 300 gold, and a T2 light tank. Create your new account using this link, and when you are asked "Have an invite code?" key in your new code. These codes are good on North American and European servers.

Now, how about that year of premium? You can still enter even if you picked up a new player code. All you need to do to enter is be eligible according to our official contest rules, then hit the comment button and let us know what you like most about World of Tanks. The deadline to enter is tomorrow, December 16th, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Best of luck, and thanks to Wargaming.net for the prizes!

If your hard-won Guinness World Record has to be beaten one day, it's best that you do it yourself.

That seems like Wargaming.net's philosophy, as the studio just announced that it's already broken World of Tanks' previously established record for Most Players Online Simultaneously on One MMO Server. 250,000 players crammed onto the game's Russian server simultaneously in November, far outstripping the title's earlier achievement of 91,311.

CEO Victor Kislyi said that its upcoming technology and software upgrades will enable World of Tanks to do even better: "We are more than happy to watch our World of Tanks win over hearts and minds of gamers all around the world. The multicluster technology will enable us to move steadily towards new milestones and records."

We recently gave World of Tanks a close look in our Firing Line column.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

I'm not the biggest tank fan in the world. Don't get me wrong; I'm a red-blooded American male who loves engines, horsepower, and most types of heavy machinery, but for whatever reason, I've never looked at a tank and come away particularly aroused.

Imagine the surprise, then, when I loaded up World of Tanks a couple of weeks ago and found myself having a jolly old time. Wargaming.net's free-to-play action title is a deceptively simple shooter with a lot of depth under the hood, and despite what some players refer to as pay-to-win shenanigans, I highly recommend it.

Continue Reading

Trust us on this: Never before has the word "fjords" been issued with such goosebump-raising intensity. But such is the World of Tanks and its passionate love for geography and the many, many ways that it can be blown to smithereens.

Wargaming.net is pumping up the hype for Update 7.0 with a new trailer showing off the famous Fjords map, the new camouflage feature, and (of course) massive tank battles. Update 7.0 is currently in public testing for release in the near future.

This week also will see "Tanksgiving" coming to the game on November 24th. During Tanksgiving -- November 24th through the 28th -- select tanks will receive double credits during matches. Wargaming.net promises even more to come with the event, but the studio is keeping its cards tight against its chest until the event arrives.

You can watch the Update 7.0 trailer after the jump!

Continue Reading

Wargaming.net is known to gamers for its popular World of Tanks MMO, in which players play... well, tanks. And thanks to WoT's success, the company has embarked on an ambitious plan to launch World of Warplanes and World of Battleships too.

I think you know where I'm going with this.

World of Dirigibles? World of Tractors? World of Hoverboards? World of Dunebuggies? World of Post-Apocalyptic Volkswagen Beetles With Chainguns Mounted On Their Hoods? Let's give the folks at Wargaming.net some helpful advice. What vehicle should they feature for their next "World of" game?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Wargaming.net's assault on the global MMO scene continues this month as the development firm heads to Korea for Asia's largest gaming-related tradeshow. The folks who brought you World of Tanks (and who will shortly be bringing you World of Warplanes, World of Battleships, and World of post-apocalyptic Volkswagen Beetles with chainguns mounted on their hoods) are traveling to G-Star 2011 to promote the recently released World of Tanks Korean language pack.

The team has also launched a promotional Korean website, and Wargaming.net seems intent on creating a large presence in the Asian gaming market for its free-to-play action MMO brands. "We've created a truly high-quality AAA title with World of Tanks [which is] already wildly successful in Russia and in the West," said Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi via press release. "Now we are looking forward to promoting our product [in] the mature and competitive Korean market."

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

The newly announced Update 7.0 for World of Tanks contains a laundry list of new content for the wildly popular free-to-play MMO.

First up, we have two new maps -- Fjords and Swamp -- where the clan warfare can take on an extra challenge with the highly anticipated camouflage system, applied to all maps. This version of stealth allows certain skins to be applied to the tanks that will "provide enhanced invisibility and add more to the strategic element of tank combat." Keep in mind that this isn't some kind of magic invisibility spell; it's an authentic camouflage pattern applied to the tanks, according to which map you're in.

In addition, Update 7.0 also introduces fog of war for Clan Wars, hiding the other team's roster, and clan emblems to let other players know how you roll.

For more on this update, check out the World of Tanks site, as well as our recent interview with Wargaming.net from GDC Online 2011.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Just a year ago, Wargaming.net was at GDC Online to promote World of Tanks. At the time, it was still in closed beta, with open beta still a month away. Nevertheless, the team was enthusiastic and excited to share its plans for the game.

What a difference a year makes. Today, World of Tanks has weathered a successful launch, surpassing five million registered players in August and setting a Guinness World Record for simultaneous player connections at 91,311. Retail boxes are now arriving in stores, and game updates have come at a steady pace. On top of that, the company is working on World of Warplanes and World of Battleships as it expands on its wartime MMO series. This week at GDC Austin, Massively had a chance to talk to Vice President of Public Relations in North America Bryan Davies and PR Manager Arthur Pratapopau, and they shared some news about all three titles. Read on for highlights from the interview.

Continue Reading

World of Tanks boxed editions landed in American brick-and-mortar stores last month, and a new press release indicates that European retailers are about to join the party.

Deep Silver has secured the publishing rights to Wargaming.net's World War II-based action MMO, and the company will be bringing the game to the UK, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Benelux, and Nordic countries in short order.

The package features the game itself plus bonus content in the form of in-game currency, premium account access, and a premium German tank. The World of Tanks box will cost £7.99 and is scheduled for a November 15th release.

[Source: Wargaming.net press release]

Wargaming.net has gifted World of Tanks fans with a development roadmap for the World War II-based action MMO, and a visit to the game's official website will give you a preview of what's coming down the pike over the next year.

The post lays out quite a bit of information, most of it marked with vague release windows like Q3 2012 and so on. There's the standard "dates are subject to change" disclaimer, but it's nonetheless interesting to see what looks to be a fairly complete development schedule. What are the highlights? Well, more tank models, of course, followed by new game types including historical battle, escort, garage battle, assault, and company battle modes.

There's also an expansion of the clan wars map in the works, as well as new customization options, vehicle physics, and more.

[Thanks to Greg for the tip!]