War Thunder News - "Vom Anfänger zum Kriegshelden: Die Progression und Wirtschaft in Free-to-Play-Spielen und speziell in War Thunder"

War Thunder: Understanding the Economy and Progression

As a free-to-play game, War Thunder's economy and progression system is essential to its success. In a recent post, Kirill Yudintsev, creative director of Gaijin, explained the principles behind the game's economy and progression, and how they work together to provide a balanced and engaging experience for players.

Player Progression

According to Yudintsev, player progression is essential to War Thunder's success. By unlocking vehicles gradually, players are given the opportunity to learn and engage with the game at a manageable pace. This is important because later vehicles are often more difficult to learn and play tactically, in terms of controls and capabilities. Without progression, the game would lose players right from the start.

Furthermore, progression serves as one of the basics of how a game makes money. Players pay for acceleration of progression, which provides opportunities for gradual learning and engagement.

The Free-to-Play Model

Unlike paid games, free-to-play games like War Thunder rely on players paying for optional extras rather than the game itself. According to Yudintsev, most War Thunder players have never paid a dime into the game, whilst playing for months or years. However, all of the maintenance, development, servers, and support is provided by those players who do pay. Therefore, the game must make money without a pay wall, so players can play indefinitely without paying anything.

The Economy and Progression System

Yudintsev outlined the general principles of the economy and progression system in War Thunder:

• Vehicles should be unlocked gradually, from simpler and older to more complex and later.


• The total time to get the first "top" vehicle should be a balanced (not too long, not too short) number of game hours.


• The player should at the beginning of the game route (while mastering the game) get new in-game equipment often enough.


• The game has to earn money, otherwise it will be closed. Income should provide everyone the opportunity to play a multiplayer game with multiple modes and features.


• Progression and economy should, as far as possible, provide a variety of vehicles encountered in battle, otherwise it's just boring.


• In a game with so many vehicles and modes, it's impossible to manually adjust the in-game economy.

Based on these principles, the economy is adjusted algorithmically based on statistics. The current progression and economy system is not the only possible system for game economy principles, but any significant changes are unlikely to be well received by the community. Therefore, the main key parameter that can be changed without significant harm to the game and players is a revision of the total time to reach the top and get the whole line.

Review Bombing

Yudintsev also addressed the issue of review bombing as a method of communication. While reviews on Steam are a platform for expression, the majority of new players just look at the score evaluation and do not read the text of reviews. Review bombing does damage to the game in that new players simply won't try it, while it doesn't raise their awareness of the problems players have noticed. Instead, players are encouraged to leave feedback in the forum and suggestions specifically about the economy in the feedback form.

Overall, War Thunder's economy and progression system is designed to provide a balanced and engaging experience for players, while also ensuring the game's financial sustainability. While changes to the system are possible, they must be carefully considered to avoid breaking gameplay for a significant part of the player base.