The MMO War Thunder currently has more players than ever before. What is the reason for this?
What is War Thunder? The MMO War Thunder combines air and ground battles as well as naval combat on historical battlefields that range from World War II to the Cold War. You control one of over 1,500 aircraft. This includes helicopters, tanks, warships, and other combat vehicles. Similar to World of Tanks, World of Warplanes, or World of Warships, you proceed as a team to achieve tactical victory.
Especially the air battles appeal to some players. When looking at the reviews of the competitor World of Warplanes on Steam, it is often mentioned that the air battles in War Thunder are more exciting and even the matchmaking is fairer.
A noticeable upturn
What has changed in terms of player numbers? In 2015, according to Steamcharts, the peak of 29,480 concurrent players was recorded. Since then, the numbers have gone down but have consistently averaged around 24,000/25,000 players. Recently, a new peak has been recorded. Steamcharts shows 35,377 concurrent players.
This upturn can even be seen in the player numbers achieved through the game’s own launcher. Over 100,000 players have logged onto the servers in recent days. It has been a long time since the MMO had so many players since late 2014/early 2015.
Why did this upturn occur? Although War Thunder regularly receives updates with new content, these are not really significant changes. The past 30 days were similar. Updates with new content were released, but this content was not special enough to explain this increase in player numbers.
Apparently, the current coronavirus crisis is affecting the MMO, as evidenced by the many new reviews that have appeared in recent days. More and more players are trying out the free-to-play titles on Steam. This is reflected in the records that Steam is currently setting. Last Sunday, March 22, according to SteamDB, 22,678,529 players were playing via Steam.
How do new players rate War Thunder? The ratings of War Thunder on Steam have been at 82% over the past 30 days.
- Longey13 says on Steam: “The game is absolutely worth playing. It’s free and there is no pay-to-win.”
- Conner sees it differently: “It’s not a bad game, better than World of Tanks. However, it is pay-to-play if you want to progress quickly.”
- SaturnMist09 writes: “Fantastic game. It’s especially fun with friends!”
Are you also playing War Thunder? Are you playing it for the first time or have you returned?
