Get ready to play without limits. World War 3 will launch on Steam and the World War 3 Launcher in Open Beta on September 29! From this date, the game will be entirely free to play for everyone with no purchase necessary. 

The Open Beta launch is the result of extended periods of testing, feedback, and development. We want to thank Closed Beta players and Veterans for their impassioned dedication, as well as the tireless efforts of the development team in achieving this huge milestone. Though the game remains in active development with more work to be done and new content still in the pipeline, we’re thrilled to welcome players around the world to enter the fray. Together, we hope to make World War 3 a uniquely immersive and entertaining gaming experience.



As well as countless improvements made to improve the game on a technical, visual, audio, and gameplay level, we’re adding a newly reworked Smolensk back to map rotation. You can also kick off Open Beta with 10 days of bonus XP from September 26–October 6, plus a round of Twitch Drops starting September 26, featuring the return of the exclusive Task Force F51 set!
We’re excited to announce that players who own a Closed Beta Pack or Veteran Pack are invited to enjoy an exclusive three-day Headstart from September 26–28 as thanks for their incredible support of World War 3! Use this additional time to get the jump on progression before Open Beta begins, and experience the game before just about everyone else. And in the meantime, enjoy the rest of the Closed Beta!
If you want to get a Headstart on the Open Beta but don’t have a Closed Beta Pack, don’t worry… Closed Beta Packs are still available from the official World War 3 website and Steam, and for a limited time only they’re available for up to 30%off!

Grab one to unlock immediate WW3 access (available until September 23), a three-day Open Beta Headstart from September 26, and a range of awesome in-game content including Battle Passes, Blueprints for weapons, outfits and vehicles, cosmetic gear, and much more (certain items will be granted during Open Beta).



To prepare for the Open Beta launch, the World War 3 Closed Beta Test will end on September 23 at 18:00 CEST. All progress will be reset following maintenance, but items received from Closed Beta Packs, Veteran Packs, Twitch Drops, and Public Stress Test rewards will remain permanently available in Open Beta and beyond. For further details about maintenance and server availability, please follow WW3 social channels.
Celebrate the arrival of Open Beta with free content and bonus XP!

• XP Bonus (September 26–October 6): Receive additional XP from every battle fought through the Headstart and the first week of Open Beta!

Prepare to experience World War 3, a tactical online FPS developed by The Farm 51. Engage in thrilling, team-based skirmishes by fighting on the ground, driving tanks and vehicles, utilizing drones to survey the battlefield, and calling in tactical strikes for maximum damage. Up to 40 players can battle in two core game modes, Tactical Ops and Deathmatch, with matches fought on a range of stunning, realistic maps. Squad up and take the fight from the streets of Warsaw, Berlin, Moscow, and Polyarny, to the outskirts of Smolensk and beyond!
Subscribe to the official World War 3 newsletter to get more of the latest news, events, special offers, and lots more like this straight to your inbox. You can also follow World War 3 on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and YouTube.

Times and dates are target estimations and may be subject to change. Follow WW3 social channels for up-to-date information.

Following a period of maintenance, the following changes will be implemented in the Open Beta build of World War 3 launching on September 26, 2022, for players with Headstart access. This build will be available to all players for free on September 29, 2022.

• XP Bonus (September 26–October 6): Receive additional XP from every battle fought through the Headstart and the first week of Open Beta!

• Added full English (EN), French (FR), German (DE), Spanish (ES), Polish (PL), Russian (RU), Turkish (TR), and Arabic (AR) in-game localization.
• Added the in-game Shop.
• Added UNC, a premium currency used to make Shop purchases.
• Added Mastery Achievements for Weapons and Strikes.
• Added Tutorial (for shooting and movement).
• Added reworked map: Smolensk (Tactical Ops).
• Added XP Boosters.
• Rebalanced Service Points (also known as SP, a non-premium in-game currency).
• Accounts can be renamed using Service Points (costs 500 SP).

• Weapon Mastery has been redesigned to ensure that important attachments are unlocked sooner.
• The range of Commander Radio Strike Warnings has been increased to allow more reaction time.
• The Armor Pack has been removed from the game. The Equipment Pack now restores armor in addition to grenades and gadgets.
• The default attachment setup for M417 in the Marksman loadout has been changed.
• AK-15 and Alpha now use proper 7.62x39mm magazines.
• Muzzle velocities rebalanced on all automatic weapons.
• Resolved bug that resulted in visual recoil on weapon whenever unequipping and equipping it.

• 7.62x54mmR, 7.62x51 NATO, 9mm Parabellum, and .40 S&W
  • Slight range adjustments to calibers.
• 870 MCS
  • Maximum range lowered to reduce lethality at distances over 20 meters.
• Vepr-12
  • Minimum range increased to make its intended 2–3 hit kill range more efficient and consistently achievable.
• M417
  • Increased weapon weight to 8 blocks.
  • Increased vertical recoil to make full auto fire at long-range harder to control.
• Scar-H
  • Increased weapon weight to 7 blocks.
  • General increase to recoil to make full auto fire less consistent.
• RPG
  • Splash damage decreased.
• M200
  • Can now only equip long-range scopes in the Primary Sight slot.
• PKP Pecheneg Bullpup, SA80, and MG5
  • Major recoil changes on all three weapons, making them easier to handle and control after the initial six shots (approximately).
• 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39mm, 7.62 NATO, and 7.62x54mm
  • Increased maximum and minimum range of Compact Barrels.
• G17
  • Decreased visual recoil for better weapon handling.

• Improved animation of the container drop when spawning a vehicle on an objective.
• Tweaks to positions of the APS on vehicles.
• Range-dependent damage for explosive damage.
• Damage fixes for the RCWS Grenade Launcher.
• Altered visual effects of gunshots on RCWS and Drone turrets.
• Reduced explosion range of AT RCWS missiles.
• 57 caliber turret (secondary turret available on certain IFVs) reloads faster and deals more damage.
• Changes to the durability of RCWS, APS, and Optics for vehicles—all are now easier to damage.
• Improvements to vehicle descriptions in the hub.
• Attachment fixes for vehicles in the hub.
• Improvements to vehicle hitboxes.
• Fixes to camo and armour that either displayed incorrectly or not at all.
• Suspension improvements made to wheeled vehicles.
• Corrections to the rotation speed of vehicles’ wheels.
• Improvements to cameras on tracked and wheeled vehicles.
• Fixes to hitboxes, hit points, and prices of Flying Drones.
  • Lower prices should make Flying Drones a better investment!
• Added AT APS LIGHT: blocks one bullet and turns off for a specified period of time.
• Renamed AT APS: now AT APS HEAVY.
• Changes to AT APS HEAVY: cooldown takes longer and blocks 4 rockets maximum.
• General improvements to strike presentation in the hub menu.
• Ammunition slot resets when changing the currently selected turret to a strike in the hub.
• Vehicle statistics tracking.

• Head glitch corrected for standing and crouching poses when wielding all in-game weapons.
• New vehicle drop animations (reworked cutscene).
• New quadbike driver behaviour in third-person perspective (TPP) animations.
• New buggy driver behaviour in TPP animations.
• Bug fixes for all chests, pants, and gloves in-game, especially on chemlights (colored lights that mark team members, squad members, and enemies).
• Corrected level of detail for character: helmets, chests, pants, and gloves.
• New first-person perspective (FPP) animations when moving with RPG7, resulting in a smoother look.
• Added new FPP animations including vaulting, sliding, and climbing.
• Resolved issues when dropping and equipping weapon magazines in TPP.
• New animations for transitions with C4 for on-back and prone poses.
• Issue with FPP camera penetrating walls during on-back to prone transitions when characters lie near walls fixed for all weapons.
• MCS870 weapon animations polished.
• MSBS-K reloads in FPP polished for a better visual experience.
• MCS870 movement animations in FPP polished, with many new animations added including sliding, vaulting, and climbing.
• Character idle poses polished to show a better grip on lower part and sides of weapons.
• New sliding animations in FPP implemented for TOCHNOST and G29 sniper rifles.
• Turning in place animations polished in TPP for smoother transitions.
• New FPP climbing and high climbing animations added when holding all grenades.
• Many bug fixes for weapon reloading in TPP, character animations blending in TPP, and more in-engine improvements to optimize character movement and behavior.
• Improved FPP walking animation to make it more synchronized with movement.
• Improved FPP sprinting animations when carrying rifles and battle rifles so certain scopes don’t obscure peripheral vision.

• Optimized duration vehicle repair points appear once awarded.
• Fixed how incorrect tooltips were displayed when interacting with aerial and land drones.
• Added color change to squad widget - you can now customize the color of your squad outside of the default value.
• Fixed jamming bug that occurred when leaving or entering a strike.
• New ammo types are displayed on vehicle HUDs.
• Added coloring to nicknames in the hub.
• Scoreboard optimized.
• Fixed vehicle seat widget colouring.
• Capture points widget optimization.
• Added cannon name types on vehicle HUDs.
• Scoreboard correctly fits different display resolutions.
• Scoreboard correctly updates score while displayed on-screen.
• Added spectated player mark when viewing the full map.
• Changed leader responsibility message to show the correct capture points.
• Changed soldiers’ marker sizes when using an air strike for better visibility.
• Resolved bug that caused UAV attachment marker from land drones to remain after drone’s destruction.
• Chat visibility lowers if unused for a certain period of time.
• Fixed player lists size on scoreboard.
• Added option to mute another player via scoreboard or radial menu.
• Strike points calculation improved.
• HUD information displayed when using gadgets improved.
• Animated banners implemented.
• Bug fixes and improvements to in-game customization.
• Vehicle lock state information display improved.
• Fixed blinking markers while using UAV.
• Scoreboard now displays the current player amount per team correctly (e.g. Team Deathmatch will show all 10 players per side).
• In-game item descriptions are now localized in all languages.
• Localization improvements for all languages.
• Next unlock preview now only shows items pertaining to the upcoming level.

• Fixed problems related to ambient sounds after loading the next map.
• Optimized ways to load audio banks and manage their overall memory pools.
• Improved the sound of certain weapons, including gunshots and silenced shots.
• Increased the minimal audibility range of all long-range weapons, including sniper rifle shots.
• Added additional language localizations in Arabic and Turkish for character voices and commanders.
• Eliminated problems with footstep inaudibility when a character moved at an angle in ADS mode.
• Systems responsible for room reverberations with ambient sounds have been optimized.
• Improved the sound of reverberations in certain rooms, their volume levels, and added new ambient sounds on maps.

• MG5: Changed default barrel to Standard Barrel.
• M4 MWS: Standard Barrel without sights no longer uses a customization slot.
• SD: Barrel’s Integrated Suppressor no longer uses a customization slot.
• SA80: LMG Barrel Bipod no longer uses a customization slot
• MCS: Fixed an issue when at three used customization slots, changing the barrel would result in the “REPLACE ATTACHMENT” screen displaying.

• Fixed a bug where kills with Leo counted to T-72.
• Fixed driver accuracy in career/stats/vehicles, where it could go above 100%.
• Fixed mute button not working on Scoreboard.
• Fixed a bug where players who returned to the main menu were not kicked.
• HUD/Settings: Fixed invalid resolution scale limit and default value.
• Fixed a bug where statistics/progression could be counted on the wrong inventory item.
• Fixed server crashes on the summary screen.
• Weapon changes are now possible by cycling to the previous weapon/next weapon even when holding a gadget.
• Fixed a bug where the Loitering Anti-Armor Munition (Aerial Drone) rotor did not spin.
• Fixed a bug where “SquadOrderFollowed” as a condition for Achievements, challenges, end-of-round statistics, and in-game point rewards was counted each time the Target Capture Point was changed, instead of squad orders followed.
• Fixed a bug where Rejoin didn’t work.
• Fixed a bug where the Palestinian and Puerto Rican flags caused part of the US gear from the Major Pack to turn black.
• Fixed a bug that caused friends to be missing from the friend list if not logged in.
• Fixed a bug where players could not start a match after trying to join a full squad.
• Fixed a bug that created visual issues on maps when finishing a match.
• Fixed a session/token bug caused by an Invited player being offline.
• Fixed a bug that caused ‘zombie lobbies’. Players will no longer be placed in lobbies which have ended, which previously resulted in being kicked to the menu after attempting to load into a map.
• Fixed an untranslated string in the ESC menu while in-match.
• Fixed an issue that caused the direction of bombing to reset after closing the tablet.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes wouldn’t allow players to switch off the Scoreboard.
• Fixed a bug related to the HUD that caused the client to crash.
• Fixed a bug related to the ESC menu that caused the client to crash.
• Fixed a bug that caused a crash when opening the Scoreboard.
• Added the old progression tree to the RPG.
• Fixed a bug where the matchmaker would not increase mode selection.
• Fixed a bug where parties did not have a party leader.
• Fixed a bug where party member levels would not be updated in the hub after a match.
• Fixed a bug where every rejoin was counted as a new match played in stats.
• Fixed a bug related to the loading screen that caused the client to crash.
• Fixed a bug where spawning vehicles caused the client to crash.
• Fixed a bug where players could shoot forward while in the quad as a passenger.
• Fixed a bug that resolves the difference between locked weapon levels in the ESC menu and the main menu hub.
• Fixed a bug where the Bundeswehr Beltkit and the Bundeswehr Beltkit with Jacket would clip into certain face gear and cause a visual overlap.
• Fixed a visual bug related to pants.
• Fixed a bug that caused the wrong icon to appear on kill feeds during an explosion.
• Corrected default banners and emblems.
• Fixed a bug where the US Army chest’s glowstick was thicker than it should be.
• Added a visual change to the JPC Vest and JPC Vest with Jacket, which now feature a small piece of metal behind the dongle used for Sentences.
• Fixed a bug on the ESC menu where translations where missing on backpack custom configurations.
• Fixed a bug that prevented the completion of certain types of challenges.
• Fixed a bug where Achievements were incorrectly counted.
• Fixed a bug where the Russian Partizan Chest would clip into the camera and block vision when moving while crouched.
• Fixed a bug where invitations could not be received from friends.
• Fixed a bug that made it possible to skip strike selection when loading into the map.
• Fixed a bug that made unlocked loadouts unavailable at the beginning of matches.
• Fixed a bug that caused the Scoreboard to miss players post-match.
• Fixed a bug that caused the Scoreboard to block the restoration of health, ammo, and equipment.
• Fixed a bug that made it possible to skip equipment selection when loading to the map.
• Fixed an issue with mirrored flags appearing on certain gear.
• Fixed a bug where players would remain in thermal vision if the warmup ended while aiming down sights.
• Fixed a bug that awarded the wrong value of XP while attacking and defending capture points.
• Fixed a bug where the scoreboard displayed unrealistic player levels.
• Fixed a bug where certain statistics for the Anders (Tank Destroyer) were not counted properly (including distance and time).
• Fixed a bug where pressing Tab would lock the Q and E buttons.
• Fixed a bug when aiming at the M200 through secondary sight that caused the T12M offset screen to appear.
• Fixed a bug with player profiles that caused nicknames and levels to display a string of numbers.
• Fixed a bug that triggered the "You have been kicked from the server" message during a match.
• Fixed a bug where players were not kicked from the hub during a mass kick, and players could still join the server.
• General Localization: Fixed a bug where keybinds wouldn’t remap automatically on non-QWERTY keyboards, and Gameplay Tips wouldn’t update automatically after a layout change.
• Polish: Fixed a bug that caused Achievements to show in English on pop-ups.
• Turkish: Fixed a bug where time limit was shown in English.
• Arabic: Updated localizations.
• Arabic: Fixed issues with text alignment on Team Deathmatch loading screens.
• Arabic: Fixed issues with text alignment on Tactical Ops loading screens.
• Arabic: Fixed broken Arabic script in out-of-bounds message.
• Arabic: 00 numbers on score board no longer appear as numerical digits.
• Arabic: Fixed a bug where text cut off in certain places in-game.
• Arabic: Fixed a bug that caused the name of the Training map to cut off on the loading screen.
• Arabic: Fixed untranslated text in the strikes loadout and menu title.
• Arabic: UI fixes.
• Arabic: Fixed a bug that caused the statistics bar for strikes to only work on some vehicle strikes.

These patch notes also include changes previously implemented in the Pre-Open Beta build.

For more information and to track the live status of World War 3, follow our official channels on Discord and Twitter.

Introducing the World War 3 Launcher, the new game launcher for World War 3 on Windows PC! World War 3 deserves bespoke support as it evolves and grows—this dedicated game launcher is optimized for the game and will be the cornerstone of all future development.

Your existing account remains safe and accessible via the World War 3 Launcher (or Steam), including any purchases and progress linked to it. You do not have to redownload the game, and no further action is required on your part except for downloading the new launcher from the official World War 3 website on August 24 from 14:00 CEST.

If you play World War 3 on Steam, you will need to update your game starting from August 24. The World War 3 Launcher will become your new authenticator, and you can continue playing as normal with no further action necessary.

We hope you enjoy using the World War 3 Launcher, the new home for World War 3 on your PC!

IMPORTANT: From August 24, World War 3 will no longer be available to download from MY.GAMES Store. You can still download the game from the official website and Steam.

The Russian town of Smolensk has a long, embattled history. Drop in when Open Beta begins to rediscover a reworked version of this map in Tactical Ops, featuring new combat zones, natural lighting and environments, improved terrain, additional buildings and cover, and much more.


 
WELCOME TO SMOLENSK

With a storied history stretching back to the time of the Rus', Smolensk has seen its fair share of conflict in the last millennium. The ghosts of its past can be seen in the walled fortification that still surrounds the heart of the city, a monument to the medieval age of siege warfare. 

Situated on the banks of the upper Dnieper River, Smolensk is famous for its contributions to the aviation, electronics, and agriculture industries, and is home to many examples of stunningly intricate Russian stone architecture.



IDENTIFYING AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Our extensive testing of World War 3 was not only intended to make the game technically ready for many players, but to ensure that our existing content was engaging, well-balanced, and suited to repeat play. As such, we identified a few issues with one of our classic maps—Smolensk—that we weren’t happy with.

We felt the map suffered from a lack of proper infrastructure and points of visual identification. This issue was compounded by insufficient lighting, which posed the risk of making players disoriented during eventful battles. 

Compared to more famous sites such as Berlin and Moscow, Smolensk was fairly unremarkable and may have made players yearn for busier, more iconic locations. Additionally, from a gameplay point of view, we found the map lacking in cover points, drastically reducing its tactical viability. Smolensk needed to change for the better, and we were ready for the challenge.



WHAT’S NEW IN SMOLENSK

Nothing was off-limits in our efforts to rework Smolensk. We completely reenvisioned the theme of the map, switching perspectives from that of an embattled town to an active military base where every interior location has its own unique visual identification and purpose. There’s a hospital, various personnel offices, a kitchen and dining room, classrooms, dormitories, communications rooms, storage rooms, garages, a gym, restrooms, and more, all placed with a keener sense of infrastructural logic.

In addition to the new theme, we redesigned a lot of the map’s infrastructure and introduced new combat areas with improved terrain. There’s a radio antenna and helipad in the center of the map close to a new capture point, plus more new buildings and cover points to provide more tactical possibilities to players. 

Smolensk’s lighting is much more natural now, with revamped color grading, new foliage, and improved materials to enhance the town’s overall aesthetic, making it easier on the eyes and less likely to cause disorientation in the heat of combat.



We believe the new changes make Smolensk better on every level, and give it a much more natural flow, look, and feel, and that players will feel more deeply immersed in the overall game experience as a result. 

The following changes have been implemented in World War 3 in anticipation of Open Beta, launching in the near future. This build is now available to all players with Closed Beta access.

• Added full Turkish (TR) in-game localization and Arabic (AR) voiceovers.
• Progression speed increased by 50%.

• Weapon Mastery has been redesigned to ensure that important attachments are unlocked sooner.
• The range of Commander Radio Strike Warnings has been increased to allow more reaction time.
• The Armor Pack has been removed from the game. The Equipment Pack now restores armor in addition to grenades and gadgets.
• The default attachment setup for M417 in the Marksman loadout has been changed.
• AK-15 and Alpha now use proper 7.62x39mm magazines.
• Muzzle velocities rebalanced on all automatic weapons.
• Resolved bug that resulted in visual recoil on weapon whenever unequipping and equipping it.

7.62x54mmR, 7.62x51 NATO, 9mm Parabellum, and .40 S&W

• Slight range adjustments to calibers.

870 MCS

• Maximum range lowered to reduce lethality at distances over 20 meters.

Vepr-12

• Minimum range increased to make its intended 2–3 hit kill range more efficient and consistently achievable.

M417

• Increased weapon weight to 8 blocks.
• Increased vertical recoil to make full auto fire at long-range harder to control.

Scar-H

• Increased weapon weight to 7 blocks.
• General increase to recoil to make full auto fire less consistent.

RPG

• Splash damage decreased.

M200

• Can now only equip long-range scopes in the Primary Sight slot.

PKP Pecheneg Bullpup, SA80, and MG5

• Major recoil changes on all three weapons, making them easier to handle and control after the initial six shots (approximately).

5.56 NATO, 7.62x39mm, 7.62 NATO, and 7.62x54mm

• Increased maximum and minimum range of Compact Barrels.

G17

• Decreased visual recoil for better weapon handling.

• Improved animation of the container drop when spawning a vehicle on an objective.
• Tweaks to positions of the APS on vehicles.
• Range-dependent damage for explosive damage.
• Damage fixes for the RCWS Grenade Launcher.
• Altered visual effects of gunshots on RCWS and Drone turrets.
• Reduced explosion range of AT RCWS missiles.
• 57 caliber turret (secondary turret available on certain IFVs) reloads faster and deals more damage.
• Changes to the durability of RCWS, APS, and Optics for vehicles—all are now easier to damage.
• Improvements to vehicle descriptions in the hub.
• Attachment fixes for vehicles in the hub.
• Improvements to vehicle hitboxes.
• Fixes to camo and armour that either displayed incorrectly or not at all.
• Suspension improvements made to wheeled vehicles.
• Corrections to the rotation speed of vehicles’ wheels.
• Improvements to cameras on tracked and wheeled vehicles.
• Fixes to hitboxes, hit points, and prices of Flying Drones. Lower prices should make Flying Drones a better investment!
• Added AT APS LIGHT: blocks one bullet and turns off for a specified period of time.
• Renamed AT APS: now AT APS HEAVY.
• Changes to AT APS HEAVY: cooldown takes longer and blocks 4 rockets maximum.
• General improvements to strike presentation in the hub menu.
• Ammunition slot resets when changing the currently selected turret to a strike in the hub.
• Vehicle statistics tracking.

• Head glitch corrected for standing and crouching poses when wielding all in-game weapons.
• New vehicle drop animations (reworked cutscene).
• New quadbike driver behaviour in third-person perspective (TPP) animations.
• New buggy driver behaviour in TPP animations.
• Bug fixes for all chests, pants, and gloves in-game, especially on chemlights (colored lights that mark team members, squad members, and enemies).
• Corrected level of detail for character: helmets, chests, pants, and gloves.
• New first-person perspective (FPP) animations when moving with RPG7, resulting in a smoother look.
• Added new FPP animations including vaulting, sliding, and climbing.
• Resolved issues when dropping and equipping weapon magazines in TPP.
• New animations for transitions with C4 for on-back and prone poses.
• Issue with FPP camera penetrating walls during on-back to prone transitions when characters lie near walls fixed for all weapons.
• MCS870 weapon animations polished.
• MSBS-K reloads in FPP polished for a better visual experience.
• MCS870 movement animations in FPP polished, with many new animations added including sliding, vaulting, and climbing.
• Character idle poses polished to show a better grip on lower part and sides of weapons.
• New sliding animations in FPP implemented for TOCHNOST and G29 sniper rifles.
• Turning in place animations polished in TPP for smoother transitions.
• New FPP climbing and high climbing animations added when holding all grenades.
• Many bug fixes for weapon reloading in TPP, character animations blending in TPP, and more in-engine improvements to optimize character movement and behavior.
• Improved FPP walking animation to make it more synchronized with movement.
• Improved FPP sprinting animations when carrying rifles and battle rifles so certain scopes don’t obscure peripheral vision.

• Optimized duration vehicle repair points appear once awarded.
• Fixed how incorrect tooltips were displayed when interacting with aerial and land drones.
• Added color change to squad widget - you can now customize the color of your squad outside of the default value.
• Fixed jamming bug that occurred when leaving or entering a strike.
• New ammo types are displayed on vehicle HUDs.
• Added coloring to nicknames in the hub.
• Scoreboard optimized.
• Fixed vehicle seat widget colouring.
• Capture points widget optimization.
• Added cannon name types on vehicle HUDs.
• Scoreboard correctly fits different display resolutions.
• Scoreboard correctly updates score while displayed on-screen.
• Added spectated player mark when viewing the full map.
• Changed leader responsibility message to show the correct capture points.
• Changed soldiers’ marker sizes when using an air strike for better visibility.
• Resolved bug that caused UAV attachment marker from land drones to remain after drone’s destruction.
• Chat visibility lowers if unused for a certain period of time.
• Fixed player lists size on scoreboard.
• Added option to mute another player via scoreboard or radial menu.
• Strike points calculation improved.
• HUD information displayed when using gadgets improved.
• Animated banners implemented.
• Bug fixes and improvements to in-game customization.
• Vehicle lock state information display improved.
• Fixed blinking markers while using UAV.
• Scoreboard now displays the current player amount per team correctly (e.g. Team Deathmatch will show all 10 players per side).
• In-game item descriptions are now localized in all languages.
• Localization improvements for all languages.

• Fixed problems related to ambient sounds after loading the next map.
• Optimized ways to load audio banks and manage their overall memory pools.
• Improved the sound of certain weapons, including gunshots and silenced shots.
• Increased the minimal audibility range of all long-range weapons, including sniper rifle shots.
• Added additional language localizations in Arabic and Turkish for character voices and commanders.
• Eliminated problems with footstep inaudibility when a character moved at an angle in ADS mode.
• Systems responsible for room reverberations with ambient sounds have been optimized.
• Improved the sound of reverberations in certain rooms, their volume levels, and added new ambient sounds on maps.

• MG5: Changed default barrel to Standard Barrel.
• M4 MWS: Standard Barrel without sights no longer uses a customization slot.
• SD: Barrel’s Integrated Suppressor no longer uses a customization slot.
• SA80: LMG Barrel Bipod no longer uses a customization slot
• MCS: Fixed an issue when at three used customization slots, changing the barrel would result in the “REPLACE ATTACHMENT” screen displaying.

This patch also includes various bug fixes.

For more information and to track the live status of World War 3, follow our official channels on Discord and Twitter.

World War 3 will undergo 8 hours of maintenance on Monday, June 13 at 10:00 CEST. Maintenance is estimated to be completed at 18:00 CEST, but more up-to-date information is available on WW3 social channels, including Twitter.

The game will be unavailable as we conduct final tests of the progression system. All current progress will be reset, including web Inventory items (which will later be restored in Open Beta).

A second progress reset will occur before the launch of Open Beta. Please keep an eye on WW3 social channels for further details.

Closed Beta Testing is almost complete, and we can't thank you enough for your support. Join us post-maintenance to help test the Closed Beta beginner experience one last time!

World War 3 will be playable for free from May 21 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT until May 25 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT as part of a new Public Stress Test!

Our objective is to put our servers through their paces by inviting as many players as possible to play World War 3 in a single evening. We’ve finetuned the World War 3 experience with improvements made possible based on community feedback and our own findings, so we can’t wait to see what you make of it.

Play during the Public Stress Test to earn +50% boosted XP!

It’s easy to take part in the Public Stress Test:

• Download World War 3 for free from MY.GAMES now or from Steam on May 20 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT (if you’re playing on Steam, you need to request access to the Public Stress Test — scroll down for more on that in the FAQ).
• Create a MY.GAMES account and sign in.
• Hit the battlefield for a whole weekend of thrilling online battles! No purchase is necessary, there are no barriers to entry, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one.

If you haven’t bought a Closed Beta Pack yet, it’s a golden opportunity to see what everyone’s raving about first-hand. If you have been playing the Closed Beta, why not invite your friends to join the fight? Squad up for a few rounds of Tactical Ops and Team Deathmatch and show them the ropes – after all, there’s strength in numbers!

Got questions about the Public Stress Test? Cast your eyes further down the page to read our detailed FAQ! In the meantime, prepare for battle by joining the World War 3 community over on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, signing up to the official newsletter for the latest news and special offers, and checking out a raft of awesome gameplay videos on YouTube.
What is the Public Stress Test and how does it differ from the Closed Beta Test?

The Public Stress Test is a limited-time event taking place within the Closed Beta Test from May 21 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT until May 25 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT. While World War 3 is currently only playable by players who purchase a Closed Beta Pack, when the Public Stress Test is active, anyone can play the World War 3 Closed Beta Test. No purchase is necessary, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one. Just make sure your PC’s specs are up to scratch!

What content will be playable during the Public Stress Test?

The Public Stress Test gives all players the chance to progress through the full World War 3 Closed Beta Test. As long as it’s already in the game, nothing is off-limits!

How do I get started?

Simply download World War 3 for free from {LINK REMOVED}MY.GAMES from May 20, create a MY.GAMES account, sign in, and play! If you want to play on Steam, read the next question and answer.

Once you’re ready, hit the battlefield for a whole weekend of thrilling online battles! There are no barriers to entry, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one.

How do I sign up to play on Steam?

Head to the World War 3 page on Steam, scroll down to just underneath the trailers and screenshots, and click ‘Request Access’. Confirm your request, and you’re clear to play World War 3 from May 21!

Can I provide feedback on the Public Stress Test?

Yes, we’re counting on it! While we hope the Public Stress Test goes off without a hitch, you may encounter some technical or gameplay-related issues. Be sure to report any bugs and other issues on our dedicated cbt-feedback channels on Discord. You will also receive a prompt in MY.GAMES GameCenter to complete a survey after playing the game for approximately two hours.

If you just want to share your experience with other players, you can also join the World War 3 community over on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

Can I carry on playing World War 3 after the Public Stress Test ends?

Yes! To continue playing World War 3 after the Public Stress Test ends, just purchase a Closed Beta Pack from either MY.GAMES or {LINK REMOVED}Steam.

Will my progress from the Public Stress Test be saved?

Any progress made during the Public Stress Test will carry over throughout the rest of the Closed Beta Test. Certain progress, such as XP earned, will be reset before the Open Beta launch to ensure all players start the fight on a level playing field.

Closed Beta Pack contents, Twitch Drops, and special rewards received via subscriptions and referrals during the Closed Beta period will be saved permanently and available to use when the free-to-play Open Beta launches.

World War 3 will be playable for free from April 30 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT until May 2 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT as part of a new Public Stress Test!

Our objective is to put our servers through their paces by inviting as many players as possible to play World War 3 in a single evening. We’ve finetuned the World War 3 experience with improvements made possible based on community feedback and our own findings, so we can’t wait to see what you make of it.

Play during the Public Stress Test to earn +50% boosted XP!

It’s easy to take part in the Public Stress Test:

• Download World War 3 for free from MY.GAMES now or from Steam on April 29 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT (if you’re playing on Steam, you need to request access to the Public Stress Test — scroll down for more on that in the FAQ).
• Create a MY.GAMES account and sign in.
• Hit the battlefield for a whole weekend of thrilling online battles! No purchase is necessary, there are no barriers to entry, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one.

If you haven’t bought a Closed Beta Pack yet, it’s a golden opportunity to see what everyone’s raving about first-hand. If you have been playing the Closed Beta, why not invite your friends to join the fight? Squad up for a few rounds of Tactical Ops and Team Deathmatch and show them the ropes – after all, there’s strength in numbers!

Got questions about the Public Stress Test? Cast your eyes further down the page to read our detailed FAQ! In the meantime, prepare for battle by joining the World War 3 community over on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit, signing up to the official newsletter for the latest news and special offers, and checking out a raft of awesome gameplay videos on YouTube.

 
What is the Public Stress Test and how does it differ from the Closed Beta Test?

The Public Stress Test is a limited-time event taking place within the Closed Beta Test from April 30 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT until May 2 at 19:00 CEST/18:00 BST/10:00 PDT/13:00 EDT. While World War 3 is currently only playable by players who purchase a Closed Beta Pack, when the Public Stress Test is active, anyone can play the World War 3 Closed Beta Test. No purchase is necessary, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one. Just make sure your PC’s specs are up to scratch!

What content will be playable during the Public Stress Test?

The Public Stress Test gives all players the chance to progress through the full World War 3 Closed Beta Test. As long as it’s already in the game, nothing is off-limits!

How do I get started?

Simply download World War 3 for free from {LINK REMOVED}MY.GAMES from April 29, create a MY.GAMES account, sign in, and play! If you want to play on Steam, read the next question and answer.

Once you’re ready, hit the battlefield for a whole weekend of thrilling online battles! There are no barriers to entry, and you don’t need a Closed Beta Pack to play with friends who own one.

How do I sign up to play on Steam?

Head to the World War 3 page on Steam, scroll down to just underneath the trailers and screenshots, and click ‘Request Access’. Confirm your request, and you’re clear to play World War 3 from April 30!

Can I provide feedback on the Public Stress Test?

Yes, we’re counting on it! While we hope the Public Stress Test goes off without a hitch, you may encounter some technical or gameplay-related issues. Be sure to report any bugs and other issues on our dedicated cbt-feedback channels on Discord. You will also receive a prompt in MY.GAMES GameCenter to complete a survey after playing the game for approximately two hours.

If you just want to share your experience with other players, you can also join the World War 3 community over on Discord, Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

Can I carry on playing World War 3 after the Public Stress Test ends?

Yes! To continue playing World War 3 after the Public Stress Test ends, just purchase a Closed Beta Pack from either MY.GAMES or {LINK REMOVED}Steam.

Will my progress from the Public Stress Test be saved?

Any progress made during the Public Stress Test will carry over throughout the rest of the Closed Beta Test. Certain progress, such as XP earned, will be reset before the Open Beta launch to ensure all players start the fight on a level playing field.

Closed Beta Pack contents, Twitch Drops, and special rewards received via subscriptions and referrals during the Closed Beta period will be saved permanently and available to use when the free-to-play Open Beta launches.

We have made the decision to postpone the free-to-play Open Beta launch of World War 3. A new release date will be announced in the near future. 

World War 3 has improved and changed for the better as a direct result of your cumulative playtime and feedback throughout the Closed Beta. That said, it’s clear from recent open tests that we still have a bit of work to do before the game is technically ready to welcome a larger audience.

We will use this extra time to polish the game, resolve network errors, improve server stability, and ensure World War 3 delivers on our vision of a thrilling online FPS experience that’s free and accessible to all players.

Thank you for all your continued support, patience, and understanding—we can’t wait for everyone to join the fray in Open Beta. In the meantime, World War 3 remains active and playable to anyone who purchases a Closed Beta Pack. If you have any feedback during this phase, be sure to drop it over on the official World War 3 Discord channel.

Stay tuned for more news about the exciting future of World War 3!

Dear World War 3 Community,

We want to thank you for your continued support throughout the World War 3 Closed Beta Test and the recent Public Stress Tests. Even though certain issues arose, we received great feedback from you that allowed us to quickly deliver improvements to sound, performance (with significantly reduced timeouts), and other gameplay elements. 

However, there are other persistent issues that we are currently aware of. These include:

• Players receiving the "Something went wrong" error during matchmaking
• Endless matchmaking does not result in players finding matches
• Players not properly joining ongoing matches
• Unbalanced teams created during matchmaking

We want to assure you that resolving these issues is currently our top priority. World War 3 underwent several maintenances this week to deploy various fixes, with more planned in the coming days that take aim at matchmaking issues.

We couldn’t have identified these issues without your continued support and playtime on World War 3. Thank you for sticking with the game and helping us work out the kinks! As we promised back in November, our mission with the Closed Beta is to provide an excellent, stable FPS experience that everyone can enjoy – we’re getting closer to achieving that with every update.

Keep an eye out for maintenance and update news on Twitter, and join the official World War 3 Discord channel for more news, discussions, and to send us your feedback. If you need help and your issue is not addressed anywhere else, please contact the Support team.

- The World War 3 Team

A localized version of this article will be available in French, German, Polish, Russian, Arabic, and Turkish on March 21.