A particularly ambitious player wanted to add a bit more realism to his favorite tank in War Thunder. However, he did so in a questionable manner: by showing official military documents. This could lead to up to 14 years in prison.
What happened?
- War Thunder is known for its realistic depiction of military vehicles such as tanks and airplanes – The British Challenger 2 is one of these tanks.
- One player seemed to find that lacking and submitted suggestions for improvement.
- He supported these suggestions with official documents from the British military, which he claimed were declassified.
- The Defense Minister stated that the information shown is still classified, and dissemination could lead to up to 14 years in prison.
What kind of documents are they? In the official War Thunder forum, a player named “Tidworth” leaked documents from a sort of user manual of the British military. According to his own statements, he is a tank commander in Tidworth, the base of the Royal Tank Regiment, where the Challenger 2s are stationed.
There were supposed to be images showing what the Challenger 2 looks like, with technical specifications and more. Most of the document is said to have been redacted or deleted.
It also supposedly had a “Declassified” stamp. The label “UK Restricted” was reportedly crossed out. This was also reported by the British United Kingdom Defense Journal (via ukdefencejournal.org.uk).
Some users in the forum said that nothing could be seen on the cover page except for the name “Challenger 2”.
Player leaks documents, dissemination could lead to prison
Why did the player do that? Allegedly, the Challenger 2 in War Thunder is not realistic enough. To make his point clear, the user supposedly uploaded the images from the military documents.
Apparently, he wanted to show what improvements needed to be made to the tank model in the game and why. He seems to be a very passionate player who desperately wanted to see his favorite tank as authentically as possible.
Moderators in the forum promptly deleted the posts and noted that they need information about their source – and that they are actually publicly available. Because apparently, they were not.
What penalties are threatened? A moderator reports that they have spoken with the British Defense Minister (via forum.warthunder.com). According to him, the documents are still classified, and he does not recognize the markings for declassification.
Typically, the dissemination of such documents leads to prosecution, and there can be penalties of up to 14 years in prison for it. The moderators therefore urge not to upload such documents again. Whether “Tidworth” will face legal consequences is still uncertain.
Apparently, War Thunder frequently has issues with players showing classified material, as there has supposedly already been a “last time”. This is probably the fate of realistic simulations.
If you enjoy realistic shooters and military simulations, check out Hell Let Loose. The hyper-realistic World War shooter is doing great on Steam – just maybe better not leak any materials from the Bundeswehr.
