One of the most exciting duels on the MMO market has been taking place for several months between the two war simulations War Thunder and World of Tanks. The balance of power is clearly defined: Here with World of Tanks the Goliath, over there with War Thunder the small and agile David.
It is rare for two competing games to occupy the same niche so clearly and find such different starting positions. The developer of War Thunder finds itself in the role of the underdog. Because actually, the “small” flight simulator game War Thunder was already due for an update years ago, as the giant World of Tanks launched an air spin-off with World of Warplanes. Yet several years later, War Thunder is still around and is launching its own ground offensive with Ground Forces against the Wargaming giant.
In the meantime, War Thunder achieved remarkable values thanks to this announcement. According to Ratpr numbers, a program that measures gamers’ playtime, War Thunder climbed to a remarkable 15th place in May, ahead of Star Wars: The Old Republic and just behind Guild Wars 2. Admittedly, the giant World of Tanks was still a good distance ahead. But World of Tanks was indeed in shooting range.
However, when looking at global Google Trends, which show how often both games were searched in the last 90 days, the gap is much larger. While War Thunder made a small jump in mid-May with the announcement of Ground Forces, this quickly leveled off, and they fell far behind World of Tanks.
Both Games a Phenomenon of the Former Eastern Bloc
This data makes it clear that both games are a phenomenon of the former Eastern Bloc states. The interest in War Thunder is highest in the Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. World of Tanks is most frequently searched in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova when adjusted for population numbers.
With the launch of a “mobile” invasion, the Goliath Wargaming has made its priorities clear for the near future. War Thunder, on the other hand, is going in a different direction with a stronger focus on core gaming and game depth.
