War Thunder is a vehicular combat multiplayer video game developed and published by the Moscow video game developer studio Gaijin Entertainment. Announced in 2011, it was first released in November 2012 as an open beta with a worldwide release in January 2013; it had its official release on 21 December 2016.[13][12] It has a cross-platform format for Microsoft Windows, MacOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Shield Android TV.
The player controls a single character from an overhead perspective and explores large outdoor areas and caves or dungeons, battling monsters and fulfilling quests from non-player characters (NPCs) to gain experience points and equipment. The game borrows heavily from the Diablo series, particularly Diablo II.[8] All areas aside from the central encampments are randomly generated for increased re-playability. While all players on a single server can freely mingle in encampments, gameplay outside of encampments is highly instanced, providing every player or party with an isolated map to freely explore.[9][10]