The last month of autumn cannot be cold if you are familiar with War Thunder, as on the 1st of November we are celebrating the birthday of our favorite game! The week will be hot!

For 9 years we have gathered in one place, the more sophisticated fans of aviation, armoured vehicles and naval vessels and we want to celebrate this achievement together with you. After all it is you, our loyal warriors, who are the protagonists of this game.

1st of November — 8th of November

Let this event live in your memory for a long time! We have prepared a special celebratory decal and a unique loading screen for you.

• Finish 1 battle in a vehicle of rank III or higher in any game mode and get “The Snail is 9 years old!” decal. 
• Win 1 battle in a vehicle of rank III or higher in any game mode and get a unique "9th Anniversary of War Thunder" loading screen.

from 11:00 GMT on the 1st of November until 11:00 GMT on the 8th of November

• 50% discount on all modifications, backup vehicles and talismans for all types of vehicles.
• 50% discountfor 90 and 365 days premium account in game. Available at the Gaijin.Net Store for 180 days.
• 50% discount for all in-game vehicles for SL and GE, for all nations: 

China, France, Italy

1st of November (11:00 GMT) — 3rd of November (11:00 GMT)


Britain, Sweden, Japan

3rd of November (11:00 GMT) — 5th of November (11:00 GMT)


USSR, Germany, USA

5th of November (11:00 GMT) - 8th of November (11:00 GMT)

Discounts will be changed on the specified days at 11:00 GMT

Vehicles from updates “Direct Hit”, “Ground Breaking” and vehicles obtainable via in-game activity in squadrons are not included.


On the 8th of November these premium vehicles will become unavailable for in-game purchase. A great chance to own premium vehicles with 50& discount!

USA

• M26E1

Japan

• J2M4 Kai

Germany

• Panzer IV/70(A)
• Tempest Mk.V (Germany)

Britain

• https://wiki.warthunder.com/Boomerang_Mk_II_(Great_Britain)

USSR

• IS-2 "Revenge"
• Fw 190 D-9 (USSR)

The king of the heavy tanks —The mighty “Maus” will be available again for research and purchase for Silver Lions from 11:00 GMT on the 1st of November until 11:00 GMT on the 8th of November.


To begin research you need to open rank V for ground vehicles in the German research tree.

Spend some Research points or convert your free research points to Maus within the specified period of time. Any research progress on the vehicle begun will not be lost and you can continue your research at any time after the 8th of November.


Especially for our birthday, we have expanded our merchandise assortment with exclusive merchandise that will be available for purchase for 10 days only! We have also prepared special digital gifts for you.

Rugged Bandana



A Collectible Poster



A collectible poster celebrating all of War Thunder's 1st of April events. Limited edition of 100 pieces with authentic signatures of the project's development team backbone! Regular posters will also be available for sale.

Self-adhesive Stickers



Self-adhesive stickers featuring the logos of the War Thunder major updates!

100 pieces of the collection posters will be signed by Vyacheslav Bulannikov (project producer), Svetlana Smirnova (lead artist, ground vehicles), Yuri Titarev (lead artist, aviation), Dmitry Skripko (head of Naval Forces direction), Timur Aminev (lead programmer, graphics), Sergei Galkin (lead programmer, game physics). Posters will be printed and signed at the end of order collection on the 10th of November and mailed to customers. In addition to limited edition autographed posters, regular edition celebratory posters will be available for purchase at the store.

In addition, you can download a digital copy of the poster to print yourself by following this link.





In addition to paper posters, we created a digital pack of hot emojis for the popular messengers for you! Download in Telegram (open) and in WhatsApp (install via sticker.ly sticker app).




9th of November — 15th of November

A competition for those that are used to achieving awards for their efforts. The tournaments will be held in 2x2, 4x4 and 5x5 formats on the https://tss.warthunder.com/index.php?action=current_tournaments.

• Tanks RB 2x2
• Aircraft SB 2x2
• Steel Legion AB 4x4
• Sea Battles 2х2 RB
• Gladiators RB
• Fire Front RBm 5х5
• Tanks RB 2x2 US

”Magnificent Nine” decal

7 tournaments in total with a total prize pool of over 200,000 Golden Eagles, with special prizes like T-shirts, mugs and souvenirs from the official War Thunder branded store as well as the “Magnificent Nine” decal.

Dear players! The work of the game servers has been completed but we continue our technical works. There may be some delays in matchmaking queues. We apologize for any possible inconvenience.

What could be spookier than rushing through a survival race alongside the laughter of evil Halloween spirits?  Participate in races in the sky and on the ground ahead of War Thunder's birthday! Check out the new grim hangar and earn yourself some spooky Twitch drops!

From 12:00 GMT on the 29th of October until 09:00 GMT on the 1st of November


Plague Doctor


Hatter


Ghost


Killer Pumpkin

The “Dead Man’s Chest” and “Witch’s Cauldron” trophies will be available for purchase in the in-game store to unlock all of the Halloween decals and decorations.


This is the M18 “Witch” that will take you to the finish line much faster than the standard, less spooky modification. Achieve 300 rating points in races and get one of the creepy decals from the “Dead Man’s Chest”!


A special race modification of the Po-2 “Night Witch”, that will take you swiftly to the finishing line. The only thing left to do is to show your talent for racing and not smash your aircraft on the rocks during sharp turns. Earn 300 rating points to get another unique decal from the “Dead Man’s Chest”. Your rating depends on the position in which you finished the race.

When the air races are over, the top 1,000 pilots will permanently receive the unique Po-2 biplane. The vehicles will be awarded during the 48 hour period after the Halloween event ends.



You can follow your progress by clicking on the “award button” in the “event” tab. But bear in mind, the record table can take up to 15 minutes to update.




Boo! What's Halloween without spooky decorations? On this eerily fun holiday, we have prepared decals and decorators for your vehicles that will surely terrify your enemies!

Watch War Thunder streams on Twitch that are marked with “Drops enabled!” from the 29th of October (15:00 GMT) until the 1st of November (09:00 GMT) to get unique Halloween prizes!

• “Witch snail” decal
• “Snail killer” decal
• “Scarecrow” decorator (for fleet)
• “Witch’s Cauldron” Trophy (contains one of three decorators for ground vehicles): “Cannibal Axe”, “Chainsaw” and “Slasher’s Mask”

Can I get something for War Thunder?
Yes! The more you watch War Thunder streams, the more rewards you’ll be able to earn!

Awesome! What do I need to do to have a chance of getting these rewards?
You just need to link your Gaijin and Twitch accounts:

1. Register or enter your Twitch account login details at the website.
2. Enter the login details for the Gaijin account you use to play War Thunder on this page, then click on the “Link” button.
3. Click the “Allow” button!

ATTENTION! Check the data of your accounts before linking them. Re-linking is possible a maximum of once every 5 days!

What streams do I need to watch to have a chance of earning rewards?
Watch War Thunder streams marked with “Drops enabled!”.

How can I find out if I have received a drop?

If you get a drop, you will see a message on the Twitch page for the stream in the upper right corner. After claiming your reward, you can find the items in your inventory in game.

ATTENTION! You need to click on the “Claim” button in the Twitch Drops Inventory before the end of the Twitch Drops campaign — until 09:00 GMT on the 1st of November! You will not be able to get any rewards afterwards!

What platforms are these rewards available for?

Rewards for War Thunder can be obtained on PC, Xbox and PlayStation.

[/list]
I’m a streamer and want to stream War Thunder. How can I enable Drops on my channel?

1. Link your Twitch account to your Gaijin account.
2. Switch on Drops in the Twitch settings.
3. Play War Thunder, stream on Twitch and make sure that you have selected War Thunder as the stream category on the stream settings page.

Our latest major update ‘Groundbreaking’ brings many improvements to all areas of the game! Including new maps, visual effects, and various new vehicles - and lets not forget our new game nation - Israel! Currently hosting the premium Spitfire LF Mk.IXe and A-4E late. The biggest feature coming in this update though is of course terramorphing - now bombs, large caliber guns and tanks wielding dozer blades can modify and shape the terrain and alter the course of battle!






Terramorphing mechanics have been added. Terrain and soil now interact with caterpillars and dozer blades on vehicles, bombs and rocket explosions leave craters on the terrain surfaces.


10 new or upgraded aircraft, new guided bombs and targeting pods.

V-12D


Spitfire LF Mk IXe



11 new vehicles including 3 lightweight armoured weapons carrier from the Wiesel family, and the Ystervark, a South African mobile anti-air unit.

Wiesel series


Ystervark



Two new ships, the nimble USS Mitscher with automatic 127 mm guns, and the gigantic HMS Marlborough with ten 343 mm canons!

HMS Marlborough


USS Mitscher (DL-2)



3 new maps, Aral Sea for mixed battles in a deserted seaside city, Bourbon island for aerial arcade battles and Vyborg Bay for coastal fleet.

Aral Sea


Bourbon island


Vyborg Bay

FULL LIST OF CHANGES

Share the news with your friends!

In the coming major update "Ground Breaking", we have prepared new guided bombs for War Thunder aircraft. Let's see some of them in details!

In the previous "Direct Hit" update, the first guided aerial bombs appeared in the game, it is a special type of guided aerial weaponry that allows you to hit ground targets from a very high altitude. In the upcoming update “Ground Breaking" we will add new GBUs to the game for different playable nations.




US-produced AGM-62 Walleye I ER aircraft guided bombs with television seeker have a working distance of about 25 km, so launch can be made from all practical altitudes in the game. The bomb has high quality guidance equipment that provides the pilot with a perfectly distinguishable picture of the area where it is to be dropped. The power of the warhead on the bomb is more than 260 kg in TNT equivalent, this will guarantee the destruction of any ground unit at the point of impact. The AGM-62A Walleye will enter service not only with American aviation (for example, on the F-4E Phantom II that use the AGM-62A Walleye I), but also on foreign models - for example, the Israeli A-4E Skyhawk is armed with AGM-62A Walleye I ER (“extended range”) bombs with enlarged wings with a large sweep angle that increases the gliding range.




The guided bombs of French production with a laser seeker that will appear in the arsenal of the Jaguar A strike fighter. The bombs differ in the mass of the warhead and operate by illuminating the desired point of impact with a laser: the operator selects a site on the surface, captures the selected area and launches the bomb, locking on to the selected area until the bomb hits. For guidance across the entire range of these guided weapons, including guided air-to-air missiles and AS-30L Nord missiles, the ATLIS II laser/electro-optical targeting pod is used that has an automatic target tracking and is capable of illuminating targets with a laser even in the rear hemisphere




British free-fall guided bombs that can be researched in the top-tier Jaguar GR. 1A strike aircraft. To launch them, the TIALD laser/optical guidance targeting pod is also used that provides the highest drop accuracy and ease of guidance.

The War Thunder Team

Get ready for the new season of War Thunder Battle Pass!

Open new stages and get unique combat vehicles, as well as tons of prizes: decals, 3D decorations, profile icons and a unique loading screen and title!

October 27th— January 26th
Battle Pass season 5

Every season there are a new set of awards. See the full list in the Battle Pass tab in the hangar, or check out our wiki. Here are the award vehicles for season 5:



Light amphibious tank with a 40mm Bofors gun is very effective both against aircraft and enemy armoured vehicles.



A nimble and heavily armed PT boat can be equipped with torpedoes, depth charges and rocket launchers.



Experimental early version of the legendary twin-engine fighter built to test punchy 40-mm cannons.



The good old PT-76 updated with an automatic 57mm gun and a mechanized ammo rack!

ALL THE REWARDS AND CHALLENGES FOR SEASON 5

Please note that the Battle Pass is completely free to claim if you obtain two Coupon Upgrades from stages in the previous season. They can be exchanged from the purchase menu for the “River Hunter” season Battle Pass!


We have significantly expanded the content of the Warbond Shop and adjusted the assortment so that you can find something interesting at each new level. Read details in the upcoming news about the shop update for the current season.


Battle Pass is a seasonal event during which you will earn progress points and use them to open new levels. Each opened level brings you a valuable reward, from Silver Lions and boosters to exclusive season prizes: decorations, profile icons and premium vehicles.

Open new stages and get awards at any time during the season.


Play!

• You get progress points every day for entering the game.
  
• From 1 to 5 points.

Complete Battle Tasks!

• See Battle Task descriptions in the game and get progress points for completing them.
  
• From 2 to 5 points.

Complete Season Challenges!

Season Challenges are very similar to Battle Tasks.

• One Challenge is available at the season’s start. Every week you get another one or two challenges, three more can be unlocked by opening stages.
  
• 30 points.

LEARN MORE ABOUT BATTLE PASS

The Beaufighter Mk I (40-mm) was an experimental version of the well-known British Beaufighter heavy fighter, serving as a testbed for the newly developed 40mm aircraft cannons in the early 1940’s.

This unique vehicle awaits pilots as one of the main prizes in the upcoming new season of War Thunder Battle Pass!

The Beaufighter is a heavy fighter known and loved by British pilots most notably for its extremely heavy armament and its good looks, present even in early modifications. The Beaufighter Mk I (40-mm) is an early prototype of the heavy fighter, which instead of entering regular service, continued being used as a testbed by engineers. This specific version is fitted with a pair of 40mm autocannons, capable of dealing some truly devastating damage, even to heavily armoured ground units!





Be sure to add the unique Beaufighter Mk I (40-mm) to your in-game collection by taking part in the upcoming new season of the War Thunder Battle Pass. Clear skies and good hunting pilots!

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

The Ystervark is a light South African mobile anti-air unit, developed during the mid 1980’s as a result of changing military doctrine.

In War Thunder, the Ystervark will be a new light SPAAG unit awaiting all tankers at rank III of the British ground forces tree in the next major update coming soon to the game. At first glance, the Ystervark boasts a rather unimpressive arsenal: just a single 20mm GAI C01 autocannon, fitted to a fully rotating open turret on the back of the vehicle’s loading area. However, being a variant of the Oerlikon KAD cannon, already present on some vehicles in the game such as the R3 T20, the Ystervark’s 20mm cannon also has a very impressive rate of fire and superb ballistic properties. As such, these qualities make the gun very pleasant to operate and provided armour-piercing ammunition is loaded, the cannon can also become a threat even to more heavily armoured vehicles at close range.





Meet the Ystervark SPAAG in the upcoming War Thunder major update “Ground Breaking”, coming soon to rank III of the British ground forces tree. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned to the news in order not to miss out on the latest developments regarding the upcoming major update. Until then, happy hunting tankers!

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

A surprising return of the good old PT-76-57 with an automatic 57mm cannon and a mechanized ammo rack!

The PT-76-57 is one of the main prizes in the new Battle Pass season, launching in War Thunder in the coming days. This is a completely new role for the good old PT-76B, which, thanks to a new automatic cannon and an improved engine, turns from timid scout into arrogant raider. The new role, of course, is based on its cannon - an automatic AU-220 57mm gun, created around the S-60 gun, known to you from the ZSU-57-2 double-barreled SPAAG. The choice of shells is the same: HE shells for aviation, and capped chamber rounds with a penetration of up to 150mm for everything else. An interesting feature of the PT-76-57 is the mechanized ammo rack for 20 rounds that provides a fire rate of up to 120 rounds per minute! Needless to say, what can be done by 20 armor-piercing rounds of 57mm caliber, wrecking into the sides and rear of enemy tanks with a jackhammer rate of two rounds per second!





We know for sure that the PT-76-57 will become the new favorite in medium and high-rank battles. And each of you can get this wonderful light tank - just complete the simple Battle Pass tasks and the PT-76-57 will be yours! We will tell you about other prizes and rules of the new season very soon, stay tuned.

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!

The first US destroyer of the Cold War era featuring auto-loading 127mm guns!

In War Thunder, USS Mitscher will be a new destroyer arriving in the mid ranks of the American naval forces with the release of the upcoming major update. Expanding the American destroyer lineup into the Cold War era, USS Mitscher brings with it several distinct new features not necessarily found on older designs and in today’s devblog, you’ll find out all about it. Let’s get started!

USS Mitscher’s primary armament consists of two single 5’’ (127 mm) cannons. Being a staple primary gun caliber found on most WWII era U.S. destroyers, some captains may initially become concerned at the number of guns fitted to the ship. However, looks can be deceiving and that’s certainly the case with this warship. Despite only possessing two primary guns, USS Mitscher’s 5’’ cannons are equipped with an automatic loading mechanism, giving it a mind-boggling fire rate of 40 rounds/min! As a result, the two cannons’ combined fire rate can certainly replace a much larger conventional gun battery in terms of volume of fire and captains should have no problems wreaking total havoc on their opponents.





USS Mitscher will soon become available to all captains as it arrives as part of the next major War Thunder update “Ground Breaking” to rank II in the American naval tree. In the meantime, make sure to stay tuned to the news as we continue unveiling what else the upcoming major update has in store for you. Until then, calm seas and happy hunting captains!

Check out the full Dev Blog article here!