Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
Subscribe
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$10.99
View
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Hardware
  • Best Of
  • Magazine
  • The Top 100
  • Forum
  • More
    • PCGaming Show
    • Podcasts
    • Coupons
    • Newsletter SignUp
    • Community Guidelines
    • Affiliate Links
    • Meet the team
    • About PC Gamer

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. Features
  3. World Of Tanks
Sponsored

The Biggest Tanks in PC Gaming

By Sponsored

How World of Tanks took over the world

Believe it or not Wargaming started life as a strategy game developer. Before World of Tanks they were known for the turn based sci-fi game Massive Assault, and the World War 2 RTS Order of War. It wasn’t until 2008 that the company first started thinking about venturing into the free to play scene, hugely popular in Asia.

They briefly considered a fantasy MMO a very popular genre among free to play games at the time, getting as far as the prototyping stage before looking for a more original idea. It was then that they started thinking about the military history expertise they’d developed during Order of War, and the concept of a free to play shooter based entire around World War 2 vehicles was born.

What made World of Tanks work was that it was so simple to grasp. On the surface it played just like any other first person shooter, move with the WASD key, aim and shoot with the mouse, with more complex ballistics simulations all happening under the surface. But the hulking tanks forced a slightly slower paced game, based on positioning, making it accessible even to those without the lightning reflexes of a Counter Strike pro.

When the closed beta first launched that was pretty much all the game was. There were only three maps and a few dozen tanks, not even a functional matchmaker, and an audience drawn mostly from military history fans. Yet the core of what would make World of Tanks so popular was there, by the time the game moved into open beta the number of tanks and maps had doubled, but the playerbase had increased exponentially.

The game’s sudden popularity took the developers by surprise, leaving them scrambling to upgrade their servers to keep up. This lead to a long open beta period, where the game was fully fleshed out, adding a full set of tech trees and levelling options inspired in equal parts from MMORPGs and strategy games. Within less than a year of launch World of Tanks had a million subscribers, and this was before the American and European betas, which launched in 2011, followed by a full launch a few months later.

Over the course of the next few years the game constantly expanded, added new maps, new tanks and new modes for an audience hungry for content. The company expanded too, moving from a small core of 100 people to a 4,000-people strong behemoth with offices across the world. This wasn’t without its problems: the constant addition of new features to an aging engine was creating problems, and the size of the company made decision making difficult. This all came to a head with the poorly received ‘Rubicon’ update, at which point it was time for a rethink. That lead to a company wide re-organisation, with a smaller group of decision makers taking charge. It also lead, eventually, to the 1.0 update and the new engine.

The Bigworld client engine had been part of World of Tanks since before the project even began, powering a fantasy MMO that Wargaming had been prototyping before settling on World of Tanks. But after several years it was showing signs of age, and it was clear it would have to be overhauled to keep the game in strong health for many years to come. The new engine would be developed in house, created specifically for World of Tanks, bringing it up to 2018 standards of graphics

That engine has been years in development, but today we’re finally able to see the benefits. The Core engine represents a huge technical overhaul, it’s been built from the ground up using exciting new technologies like Global Illumination and Dynamic Water effects, and created specifically with World of Tanks in mind. With 1.0, World of Tanks is game built to 2018 standards, and ready for many years of updates to come.

Sponsored by Wargaming

PC Gamer Newsletter

Sign up to get the best content of the week, and great gaming deals, as picked by the editors.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Sponsored
Social Links Navigation
Recommended
Nintendo sends Valve DMCA notice to block Steam release of Wii emulator Dolphin
Will Smith finally picked a game to star in, and... it's a free-to-play survival shooter?
  1. The most powerful gaming GPUs and the ones that provide the best bang for your buck.
    1
    Best graphics cards in 2023: GPUs for every budget
  2. 2
    Best gaming chairs in 2023
  3. 3
    Best gaming laptops in 2023: Portable powerhouses
  4. 4
    Best gaming monitors in 2023
  5. 5
    Best gaming headsets in 2023
  1. Dark Matter GT Foldable Racing Wheel Stand
    1
    Monoprice Dark Matter GT
  2. 2
    Playseat Trophy Logitech G Edition
  3. 3
    Thrustmaster T128
  4. 4
    Thermaltake CTE C750 Air
  5. 5
    Thrustmaster T818

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.