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World of Tanks kicks off European and North American open beta
Wargaming.net has sounded the death knell for World of Tanks' closed beta, and the development team is putting on its game face as the free-to-play heavy-armor MMO rolls ever closer to release. The title's open beta is officially er... open, and the devs are inviting anyone and everyone to strap on a few tons of steel and participate. Registration is dependent upon your region, so make sure you visit the appropriate link (one for Europe and one for America) to sign up. "We want to thank all those players who participated in the closed beta test and helped us make the game open to a bigger audience by reporting bugs and providing valuable feedback. Now it's time for us to further enhance and polish the game before its final release," says Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi via press release. Learn more about World of Tanks at the official website, and don't forget to check out the new screenshots below as well as the open beta launch trailer after the jump. %Gallery-96260%
World of Tanks open beta starts January 27th
Ladies and gentlemen, start your tank engines. World of Tanks is officially rolling towards release, and Wargaming.net has just announced that open beta will kick off on January 27th. The World War II-based heavy armor MMO has been undergoing closed beta for the past six months, and the devs have decided that after 260,000 players (20,000 of them concurrent) and 40 million bombed-out vehicles, it's high time to kick the tires and light the fires. "We've been very pleased to get such a response from our players, that means the direction we are moving in goes in line with the views of our community," says CEO Victor Kislyi. World of Tanks features upwards of 150 authentic American, German, and Russian vehicles, all designed for action-packed 15 vs. 15 battles featuring a mixture of action, strategy, and simulation. You can learn more at the official site as well as sign up for the beta.
World of Tanks closed beta registrations hit the one million mark
It can often be difficult to judge how much anticipation is building for an upcoming title. For MMOs, a fairly good milestone for comparison is the number of registrations entered for the closed beta phase. If its closed beta registrations are anything to go by, there's a great deal of interesting building in Wargaming.net's upcoming MMO World of Tanks. The first round of WoT's closed beta ended in August and at peak saw over 4,000 concurrent players. Last month, we discovered that the second round of closed beta testing saw a peak concurrent user total of over 53,000. Much of the dramatic increase can be attributed to release of the Russian closed beta test, as Russian players have taken a massive interest in the title. One month ago, Wargaming.net reported the total number of active players to be 150,000 for the US/European closed beta and 350,000 in the Russian beta. These players came from a total of 700,000 registered beta accounts, half a million of which were from Russia and 200,000 of which originated in the US and Europe. Within the last month, the number of registrations has now skyrocketed past the one million mark, proving that there's significant interest in the game. On reaching this milestone figure, Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming.net, took the opportunity to thank players for their interest. "We would like to thank all the WoT fans for their support." he told us. "Wargaming.net will continue to work hard on adding new content to the game regularly to guarantee that our community gets maximum fun from playing World of Tanks". To celebrate the milestone, Wargaming.net has released a series of screenshots from its closed beta tests. %Gallery-96260%
French making war, not love, with new World of Tanks armor
The French are invading! The French are invading! We know, it shocks us too, but at least in the case of the upcoming World of Tanks action MMO, it's a true statement. Wargaming.net has just released a new development tree which shows off level paths for each of the five classes of French heavy armor coming to the game. "With French vehicles we are going to take another step further in expanding World of Tanks armored fleet, drawing new tank enthusiasts into the game and providing more extensive gameplay options for those already playing," says Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. Check out the development tree graphic, and be sure to stop by the official WoT website to register for the ongoing beta.
World of Tanks announces Vivox voice chat
What's a military action game without angry squad leaders, four-letter words, and locker room camaraderie, amirite? In service of those ideals, and a few that are more family-friendly, Wargaming.net announces the arrival of integrated voice chat in its World of Tanks action MMO. High-definition in-game voice will be heard around the battlefield courtesy of Vivox, Inc. "When creating World of Tanks it was critical for us to include voice communication capabilities. With proven scalability, numerous live integrations, and best in class quality -- partnering with Vivox was an easy decision," says Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi. World of Tanks is a free-to-play, vehicle-based action game currently undergoing closed beta testing. The Vivox integration will allow seamless communication, sans third-party apps, during combat and via the game's various lobbies. You can learn more, as well as sign up for beta, at the official website.
World of Tanks reaches half million active players
Wargaming.net's World of Tanks is different from your usual MMO, and it's not just because your avatar is 25 tons of steel and a large gun barrel instead of the standard orc or elf. Unlike most game makers, the World of Tanks devs are quite open when it comes to their playerbase, freely divulging the number of registrations and active players in various regions around the world. For example, the ongoing US/European closed beta test features 150,000 active players (and 200,000 registrations), while the Russian version of the title boasts 350,000 actives and a half million registered players. Taking a page from CCP's book, Wargaming.net has also released peak concurrent user numbers, which amount to 43,000 in Russia and just over 10,000 in the West. "It's just the beginning of a global legend. We see this game running for at least ten years in the West and Asia with tons of new content coming out every month," says CEO Victor Kislyi. You can find out more about World of Tanks on the official website, and don't forget to sign up for the beta.
World of Tanks rolls out American armor
The World of Tanks beta just got a bit bigger, as Wargaming.net has released a good-sized update that features tons of new vehicles as well as two additional battlegrounds. The Monastery map boasts both rural and urban landscapes, while Sandy River shows off desert terrain. The patch also introduces American tanks of various classes including light, medium, heavy, and super-heavy units, plus artillery that offers new options for expanded gameplay and tactics. "The tanks that we have in the game at the moment form the backbone of the American armored fleet that will gradually grow bigger and stronger. Such legendary vehicles as the Pershing, M10 Wolverine, and M18 Hellcat are already in development and will join the ranks soon," says Victor Kislyi, Wargaming.net's CEO. Check out the gallery of new armor below as well as a trailer after the break. You can also sign up for beta on the official website. %Gallery-96260%
World of Tanks releases two new maps
Wargaming.net's World of Tanks MMO keeps rolling right along, as the development studio announced the release of two new battle maps earlier today. The World War II-based action title features a plethora of historically accurate tanks for players to collect and control and, thanks to the update, also features the Komarin and Cliff locales. Komarin is a small Eastern European village and Cliff is inspired by the shorelines and rock formations of the infamous Normandy coast. Nick Katselapov, Wargaming.net producer, is excited about the new maps and their tactical gameplay possibiliies. "[These] maps will encourage players to apply even more teamwork and cooperation because they require a totally different tactical approach than any battlefields that World of Tanks has had to offer so far," he said in a press release. If you're wondering where you can get a piece of this heavily armored action, head over to the game's official website and enlist in the closed beta.
World of Tanks heavy tank trailer released
Ready for your next glimpse of rolling death metal from the folks at Wargaming.net? That's good, because the newest gameplay trailer for their forthcoming World of Tanks MMO has been sighted in the wild. The clip focuses in on the game's heavy tank units, showing off the blistering firepower players will unleash when the World War II-era title goes live later this year. "We are proud of the rich tank collection the game offers and heavy vehicles are our main boast," says producer Nick Katselapov. In addition to defending bases and repelling hostile invaders, Wargaming.net sees its heavy tanks in offensive roles as well, such as disrupting enemy defensive lines. You can view the trailer after the cut, and don't forget to sign up for the beta on the game's official website.
Massively Exclusive: World of Tanks closed beta screenshots
Massively has teamed up with the fine folk over at Wargaming.net to bring you a dose of exclusive screenshot goodness from the ongoing World of Tanks closed beta test. The upcoming massively multiplayer action title puts players in the cockpit of over 150 World War II-era armored vehicles from the United States, Germany, and the Soviet Union, all of them modeled with an eye towards historical accuracy. The screenshots, released today to coincide with the start of Phase Two of closed beta, feature the bombed-out buildings of Erlenberg as well as the relatively peaceful farmland and homesteads around Pagorki. Learn more about World of Tanks at the official website, be sure to sign up for the beta, and don't forget to view the new screens in our gallery below. %Gallery-96260%
Square Enix delivers one Order of War
For its first effort publishing a Western game outside of Japan, Square Enix has picked something as stereotypically Western as it possibly could have: a PC strategy game ... about World War II ... with the generic title Order of War. This isn't coming from the publisher's new LA studio, or from Eidos -- but rather from developer Wargaming.net, who is beating Supreme Commander 2 to the punch.Order of War recreates two WWII campaigns: "American versus German forces on the western front and German versus Russian on the eastern front." It allows players to control forces both on the ground and in the air and will release simultaneously this fall across "all territories."This may be Square Enix's first Western release of a Western-developed game, but it isn't the first for the two companies that became Square Enix. Square's first was Secret of Evermore in 1995, and Enix's seems to be a SNES game based on King Arthur & The Knights of Justice.%Gallery-50286%
Behind the Curtain: Immediacy in PvP
I don't PvP much. It's not just that I suck at it – I like to think I'm reasonably intelligent, so I'm sure I could pick up the necessary skills fairly quickly. The truth of the matter is that I just don't like PvP very much; I find it lacking a sense of actually playing against another person, a sense of immediacy.Amongst my many hobbies, I play 40K. Putting aside the fact that tinkering with inch-high fiddly little pieces of metal and plastic appeals to my obsessive/compulsive tendencies, I enjoy the immediacy of standing opposite my opponent, being able to look him/her in the face and (shock horror!) strike up a conversation with them. Because of this, I've always viewed PvP in my MMOs as a necessity, rather than as a real alternative. For example, I recently started a new character in World of Warcraft, a Warrior, and once I hit 70 with her I'll see if I can find any decent PvP rewards that will help me out with tanking, but that'll depend on how my PUGs go up to then, and will be born of necessity rather than any real desire to take part in PvP. Even if Blizzard released the [OMFG PIG STICKER OF LEETNESS], I doubt very much if I'd be running to the nearest Battleground to start grinding honour for it.
