Anecdotal evidence suggests that the most exciting thing about War Thunder is NEEOOOOOWM DAKA-DAKA-DAKA. But from the outside, the most exciting thing has been the distant, stormy cloud visible on its horizon for the better part of a year – seamless ground-to-air-and-back-again combat. Today, players selected for their dedication to a series of in-game challenges throughout November will be some of the first to grind treadmarks into the Ground Forces expansion’s green landscapes.
In a statement that reads a little like a Kremlin memo, developers Gaijin Entertainment hail the “next glorious chapter” in War Thunder’s creep towards becoming a multi-perspective battle sim in which players can inhabit air machines or armoured vehicles, both on the land and off the shore.
“Our ultimate goal is to have hundreds of thousands of individual games made up of dozens of players who can experience intense battles where they come from the skies, the land and eventually from the sea,” said Gaijin CEO Anton Yudintsev. “The launch of [the] Ground Forces expansion closed beta is another step towards that goal.”
Ground Forces also introduces a new progression system, which necessitates aircraft ‘research’ and follows a tech free roughly faithful to the real history of aviation.
If you weren’t among the players rewarded with a beta ticket for tackling daily challenges last month, it’s still possible to buy your way into the expansion early. All three of the pricey packs recounted below offer closed beta access later in December – though you’re advised that other as-yet-unannounced means of getting in are planned too.
M4A2 Sherman Starter Pack ($49.99)
- Exclusive M4A2 Sherman, captured by the German forces, that will be available only for the owners of this pack;
- 2000 Golden Eagles
M4A2 Sherman Advanced Pack ($59.99)
- Exclusive M4A2 Sherman, captured by the German forces, that will be available only for the owners of this pack;
- Unique German “Panther” decal of 39th Tank Regiment, 51st Battalion;
- Unique German “Knight with spear” decal of 505th Heavy Tank Battalion, 1944;
- Unique title “Sherman Hunter”;
- 3000 Golden Eagles
T-34 Advanced Pack ($49.99)
- Exclusive T-34 prototype, that will be available only for the owners of this pack;
- Unique Soviet “Swift” decal of 15th Guards Mechanized Brigade, 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, 3rd Ukrainian Front, 1944;
- Unique Soviet “Circles” decal of 7th Guards Tank Corps, 1945;
- Unique title “T-34 Test Driver”;
- 3000 Golden Eagles
T-34 and M4A2 Sherman Advanced Pack ($99.99)
- Exclusive T-34 prototype, that will be available only for the owners of this pack;
- Exclusive M4A2 Sherman, captured by the German forces, that will be available only for the owners of this pack;
- Unique Soviet “Swift” decal of 15th Guards Mechanized Brigade, 4th Guards Mechanized Corps, 3rd Ukrainian Front, 1944;
- Unique Soviet “Circles” decal of 7th Guards Tank Corps, 1945;
- Unique German “Panther” decal of 39th Tank Regiment, 51st Battalion;
- Unique German “Knight with spear” decal of 505th Heavy Tank Battalion, 1944;
- Unique title “Sherman Hunter”;
- Unique title “T-34 Test Driver”
- Unique title “Tank Pioneer”
- 6000 Golden Eagles
Ground Forces will eventually rumble into open beta, of course, where War Thunder has remained throughout its year-long lifespan. An expansion, for a game with five million players, still in beta! PC development got weird, didn’t it?