The game is downloaded via Gaijin's website as a free client, but on Feb. Purchasable upgrades and currency were also live as of the open beta. Gaijin Entertainment has stated the stats and progression earned by players during the open beta will not be reset when the game goes into full release. The closed beta began in March 2012 and concluded in October 2012. Beta Crashing without a tail in the beta. The War Thunder aerial alpha ran from October 2011 to March 2012. Researching planes and upgrading crews use a mixture of various currencies some earned in gameplay, some purchased with money. Within each nationality the player has a hangar holding 3-7 planes of their own with many levelling and customisation options.

As one is levelled, that progress is not transferred to the others. Each have their own unlock trees and sets of planes. There are two more planned countries which have yet to be included in the game Australia and Italy. There are five countries represented in War Thunder United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, Japan, and Germany. Arcade mode is essentially a more simplistic multiplayer shooter while historical battles mode will require more advanced techniques like taking off and landing during battles and realistic damage modelling. There are multiple difficulty modes depending upon how much realism you desire. Many historical battles from the second world war and the Korean war are represented as maps. It features period accurate planes and locations from 1939 to the late XX century. The name was changed due to perceived confusion with 's World of Warplanes. The aerial portion of War Thunder was originally called World of Planes. Players controlling air and ground or air and naval forces fight on the same battlegrounds. Like its primary competitor, War Thunder offers all three major types of warfare (aerial, naval, ground), but does this in one single game and allows to control jets, helicopters and modern tanks as well. War Thunder is an MMO-style combat game about World War II, Cold War and modern military vehicles.

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