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Five million players reported in War Thunder
The takeaway from War Thunder's latest set of player numbers is that while war may be hell, simulations of war work out quite well. Gaijin Entertainment is reporting that the game has attracted a grand total of five million players since its international launch in January. That's good news for the title's future, both on the PC and on the upcoming PlayStation 4 edition; apparently people really like being able to shoot down planes (and blow up tanks in the future). By way of a small celebration, special Golden Battles will be organized on November 10th to give players a shot at earning a special decal for planes. While we don't know if the count merely flags registered accounts or has a specific activity flag, five million is still an impressive figure. If you haven't already played the game, it's available now as a free-to-play title, or you can wait until your PlayStation 4 arrives with War Thunder as a launch title. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
Watch an orchestra perform War Thunder's Symphony of Steel
Gaijin is making a concerted effort to publicize its War Thunder World War II sim of late, and one of this week's more noteworthy reveals is a performance of the Baltic Symphonic Orchestra captured on video. The group is shown recording Symphony of Steel, a new track written for the game's upcoming ground battles. Feast your eyes -- and ears -- after the cut! [Thanks hilaryminc!]
Gaijin records real tank, artillery sounds for War Thunder's ground game
You may have heard about War Thunder's ongoing ground combat additions to its primary flight sim experience. What you probably haven't heard -- or seen -- is the Gaijin devs recording various real-world tank and artillery sounds that add to the game's authenticity. A new video released on the firm's YouTube channel says that over a dozen tanks were recorded "including 40 Stug, Panzer 3 and 4, Sherman M4A3, M4A1, and others." Click past the cut to see the crew and all the heavy artillery hard at work. And don't forget to check out the War Thunder website to see the newly released tank trees! [Thanks hilaryminc!]
First gameplay videos of War Thunder: Ground Forces roll onto the scene
Virtual pilots who revel in dogfighting have most likely been watching the development of War Thunder, which earned the title Best Simulation Game at Gamescom. But did you know that there is ground assault in the War Thunder world? If you don't believe us, check out these first images of gameplay in War Thunder: Ground Assault. You'll need a chunk of time to watch it all; the first clip is pretty brief, but the second clocks in at almost 20 minutes. Unfortunately for the non-Russian speaking, the accompanying commentary is a mystery, but you can still watch tanks rolling around the landscape blasting holes in one another after the break. [Thanks to Skurvel for the tip!]
Gamescom 2013: Destiny, ESO take top honors
Over 340,000 attendees descended on Cologne to see what the biggest in the business had to offer at Gamescom 2013, with the upcoming battle between Microsoft and Sony's next-gen consoles taking center stage. So what came out on top? According to this year's Gamescom Awards, pretty much the games you'd expect. Bungie's MMO-shooter hybrid Destiny took home the award for Best PlayStation game, along with Best Action Game, Best Online Multiplayer Game, and Best of Gamescom. Meanwhile, ZeniMax Online and Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls Online walked with Best Role-Playing Game and Best Social/Casual/Online Game. Gaijin Entertainment's War Thunder was named Best Simulation Game. Other awards were meted out to non-MMO contenders; Titanfall, Forza 5, Mario Kart 8, FIFA 14, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, and Battlefield 4 all ended up with some sort of official recognition.
War Thunder now flies under Steam power
Already gaining a following in open beta on the PC and currently under development for the PlayStation 4, the dog-fight laden War Thunder is now available on yet another platform: Steam. And virtual pilots who take to the skies via Steam will get an exclusive content package. The War Thunder Steam Pack includes two premium airplanes (XP-38G and A6M5 Ko "Zero"), two single-player campaigns (USA Pacific and Japanese Pacific), and a 30-day premium account with 1,700 Golden Eagles, War Thunder's in-game currency. Players also receive the Steam exclusive P-36A "Hawk" fighter, the plane that belonged to lieutenant Philip M Rasmussen, famed for being one of the few American pilots who was able to take off and protect Pearl Harbor during the Japanese attacks. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
War Thunder video highlights planes and mods of update 1.3
'The friendly skies' it is not; not with historical warplanes waging battle across it. And with the new update 1.3, the airways in War Thunder just got a little meaner. This latest update of the dogfight-infused game will offer pilots more customization options for their planes, from both new planes (seven American, seven Russian, and one British) to more long-planned modifications. These modifications are divided into four ascending stages, each one allowing players to improve weaponry, engine performance, and durability. Higher stages are unlocked only after a requisite number of mods are purchased from the previous level. What about pilots who have already modified their planes? Devs assure that nothing will be lost -- all previously installed mods will be automatically installed in the new update. Watch the new planes in action in the update video after the break, and read up on all the upcoming changes in the dev diary and patch notes on the official site. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
Coming soon to a console near you: MMOs
Remember E3 2013? That huge video games conference thing from earlier in the summer? Weeks have passed since Microsoft and Sony squared off in the Los Angeles convention center (while Nintendo posted up at Best Buy and Ouya sulked in the parking lot), but the news made there continues to reverberate through the games industry. One curious trend seems to have been missed amid the clashing of proverbial titans: There sure are a lot of MMOs and online-focused games due on consoles this generation. And since MMOs are the business of Massively, we thought it might be fun to compile a quick list of all the ones we can find that are either already available on our current consoles or set for launch on the next batch. The list, as it turns out, is pretty extensive.
DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 confirmed for PlayStation 4
Sony's next-gen console may not have a fancy tablet controller or an all-seeing, always-on eye that watches you watch things, but it does look as if it's getting a couple of high profile MMOs. Sony Online Entertainment has confirmed that both DC Universe Online and PlanetSide 2 are headed for the PS4 as free-to-play downloads later this year. DCUO is currently available on PS3, but PlanetSide 2 has yet to make a console appearance. This may be why more information is available as to the implementation of the former than the latter; DCUO's official Twitter account is currently fielding questions about the PS4 announcement, while PlanetSide 2's doesn't seem to be talking about it at all. For those keeping score, that's now at least four free-to-play MMOs due on the PS4 either at launch or soon after: War Thunder, Warframe, DC Universe Online, and PlanetSide 2. Larry Liberty (producer for DCUO) might have been onto something when he said the new console would be a "great platform" for MMOs.
War Thunder coming to the Playstation 4 this year
The military MMO formerly known as World of Planes (not to be confused with World of Warplanes) has announced a console connection today. War Thunder, currently in open beta, is coming to the PlayStation 4 in time for the 2013 holiday season. Gaijin Entertainment's creative director Kirill Yudintsev commented on the announcement: "Partnering with Sony Computer Entertainment is the most natural progression for the War Thunder brand, from our hugely successful beginnings on PC with more than 1.5 million players, to our recent announcement that War Thunder is under development for mobile devices. We are excited to bring War Thunder to the leading next-generation platform, the PS4." Be sure to check out the brief War Thunder Ground Forces teaser trailer just after the jump. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
War Thunder opens US beta server, starts development on mobile version
War Thunder, formerly World of Planes, has been soaring through open beta for several months now. Gaijin Entertainment decided that it's time to make a few flight adjustments, however, and announced that it has opened up a separate US gaming cluster to improve latency times for North American players. The developer also let slip that it has begun development on a mobile version of the game for both iOS and Android platforms. Gaijin said that War Thunder has attracted 1.5 million active users who have flown a total of 224 million missions since the start of beta. The developer recently put out version 1.29 for the flight sim; the patch makes a number of significant improvements such as four new aircraft, improved damage models, and a new economy. [Source: Gaijin Entertainment press release]
War Thunder enters open beta, new trailer released
Gaijin Entertainment has announced that its War Thunder World War II-based online flight sim has officially entered open beta. The title, formerly known as World of Planes, has been in development for over four years. The open beta comes almost a year to the day after Gaijin's announcement that the game had evolved "beyond pure aerial combat." Gaijin previously developed Birds of Prey, a console-based entry in the long-running Sturmovik series. The company has released an open beta teaser trailer that you can view after the cut. You can also join the beta test via the game's official website.
The Firing Line: 16th century fragging edition
What do War Thunder, World of Warplanes, Leonardo da Vinci, and Tribes: Ascend have in common? Not a whole lot aside from their respective appearances in this week's edition of The Firing Line. Won't you join me after the cut for a rundown on some recent and notable online shooter news? If you're feeling particularly ornery, you can point and laugh at the fact that I'm still not in the War Thunder beta.
This Week in MMO: Gannon-free edition
It's time for This Week in MMO, kids, and no, you don't need to adjust your televisions monitors. That is not Gary Gannon behind the mic this week, but it is Mike Schaffnit, and he's joined by Mike B. and Jason Winter for the customary MMO news roundtable. Tops on the agenda is TERA, which went from announcing its launch date to having a potentially launch-affecting lawsuit leveled at it by NCsoft. As the week wore on things got a bit better thanks to pre-order announcements (and the associated closed beta invites), but there's still a bit of a cloud hanging over En Masse's maiden title that our trio discusses at length. Other newsy bits include The Secret World's new trailer, World of Planes namechange, and the overbearing nanny-state that is South Korea. Check out the full show after the break.
The Firing Line: Newsplosion edition
Holy carp there was a lot going on in shooter circles this week! Between the news blurbs, videos, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. memories (yes, I said S.T.A.L.K.E.R, and damn that takes a long time to type), there was nearly enough information for two editions of The Firing Line. Luckily for you (and for my overworked editor), I managed to keep the word count down. Let's not kid ourselves, though; there's plenty of interesting stuff after the cut. Join me for the latest on dueling World War II aviation MMOs, a new free-to-play shooter from Crytek, the requisite PlanetSide 2 lovefest, and some official dev answers to last week's Taikodom question.
World of Planes renamed, evolves 'beyond pure aerial combat'
Gaijin has renamed its forthcoming aviation-centric World War II action MMO. The title was formerly called World of Planes (not to be confused with World of Warplanes), but will henceforth be known as War Thunder: World of Planes. The official website has been redesigned to reflect the change, and most interestingly, Gaijin states that aviation is no longer the title's sole focus. "This name change is significant because the online multiplayer universe Gaijin is developing has evolved beyond pure aerial combat. The massive historical battles featured in War Thunder cannot be fought with aviation alone -- World of Planes is only the beginning," the site says. What this means is anyone's guess, since Gaijin has not offered any details regarding ground- or sea-based combat as of yet. The company has released a new screenshot gallery, though, and you'll find that and more at the new official site.
The Firing Line: An early look at World of Planes
Today I'd like to expand on the World War II flight shooter theme introduced in last week's episode of The Firing Line. We've talked a bit about Wargaming.net's World of Warplanes, but there's another MMO in the works that features intense aerial battles, sexy 1940s-era aircraft, and a "World of" title.
World of Planes updates include screenshots, fan video, and interviews
Timing is everything, a wise man once said, and Gaijin's PR department surely knows this. That's why we've finally got some new info on World of Planes after weeks of silence. Yes, we said World of Planes, not World of Warplanes, and we're sure it's a big ol' coincidence that Gaijin has chosen to open the floodgates just after Wargaming.net released its first tech tree earlier this week. At any rate, there is some cool stuff to see if you're into World War II-era aviation. First up is a fan-made (and developer-endorsed) video that we've embedded for after the break. Then there is the new screenshot gallery on the official WoP website. Lastly there are a couple of noteworthy forum threads including a beginner's guide and the second interview in a series focusing on alpha testers who are real-world pilots. [Source: Gaijin press release]
New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more
Gaijin Entertainment has released another heart-pounding video from its upcoming World of Planes MMO, and the scene has shifted from the Pacific theater showcased last month to what looks to be the Kuban region of southern Russia. A gaggle of great-looking World War II fighters are on display, as are a few stomach-churning cockpit perspectives and some spiffy smoke, fire, and damage effects. There's a lot of air combat, of course, but there's also a brief glimpse of some target strafing and quite a lot of detail when it comes to terrain textures, buildings, and other ground objects. Flight sim fans will be happy to know that Gaijin was responsible for 2009's IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, a console-based air combat title that followed in the footsteps of the venerable Sturmovik series on the PC. Gaijin also developed a PC version called Wings of Prey and looks to be using that expertise for its new free-to-play World of Planes MMO. Kick the tires and light the fires by checking out the new trailer after the cut.
Gaijin releases World of Planes screenshots and trailer
World of Warplanes isn't the only free-to-play World War II aviation title spooling up on the flight line, as Gaijin has just released a new trailer and a bevy of screenshots for World of Planes (yes, that's the actual name). If the new assets are anything to go by, World of Planes will be pretty stiff competition. Despite an intertitle that says the in-game footage is from an alpha build and not representative of the final product, the clip is pretty impressive. We're treated to a bird's eye view of a squadron of Dauntless divebombers making their way towards a Japanese ship convoy, and there are a couple of obscure aircraft on display (including the Brewster Buffalo and a Rufe, which is basically an amphibious version of the more famous Mitsubishi Zero). Gaijin seems to have an eye for detail as well (note the operating dive brakes on the Dauntless and the exposed wing rib on an Me 109 above, and in the screenshot gallery below). You can learn more at the game's official website, and don't forget to check out the four-minute trailer after the cut. %Gallery-126603%
