And if you say that headline out loud thinking it just adds to the insanity that has been these past few years, it actually doesn't sound all that crazy and, in fact, more like a return to normalcy for the world.

Go ahead, say it out loud.

See. It just sounds... right.

We already reported Arnie was teaming up with Wargaming for something World of Tanks related, and overnight the company aimed its sights at firing off details on just what that looks like moving forward:

Everything starts in the Garage. Here, players will instantly get their first present (the brand-new T3 Convertible, a Tier III Premium American medium) and will receive special Missions from Arnie. Each day a new mission will be revealed and there’s a total of 32 to complete. Upon completing 27 of them, the player will get Arnold Schwarzenegger as a commander. And this is the only way to recruit the action hero who comes with a voiceover recorded by the man himself, which includes some of Arnold’s most iconic phrases! Additionally, Arnold comes trained with three skills (Sixth Sense, Repairs, and Brothers in Arms as a zero perk).

Each successful mission will bring Small Boxes and Holiday Stamps. Small Boxes contain Shards for players to craft Standard and Large Decorations in the Decorider. This year, Standard Decorations will be of equal value, some of them containing easter eggs from Arnold’s acting career. The more embellishments, the more Festive Atmosphere Points and the higher the Festive Atmosphere Level. Holiday Post allows players to send parcels with Small Boxes to their friends by amassing Holiday Stamps. Their generosity will pay off: exchanging these parcels will bring senders special rewards.

“World of Tanks proves better than anything else that nothing is beyond reach for a person who has the desire, determination, and dexterity to get it,” states Arnold Schwarzenegger, World of Tanks Ambassador via press release. “So, start your engines, commanders, and don’t miss a moment of Holiday Ops 2022!”

“We are happy beyond measure that Arnold Schwarzenegger joined this year’s World of Tanks Holiday Ops. Needless to say, it’s been the cherished dream of our players for years!” states Max Chuvalov, World of Tanks Publishing Director.

“Enjoy Holiday Ops 2022 hosted by the invincible Arnold and grab your chance to recruit the greatest action hero as a commander!” The cherry on top, a special soundtrack will be accompanying the event to overwhelm the players with the spirit of careless merriment!

So there you have it, Arnie is now in World of Tanks and we should be seemingly better for it.

With Wargraming kicking off five thematic Acts - the first of which starts tomorrow - that will run through key milestones in World of Tanks history showcasing a decade of action. Exclusive customisations will also be available in a special Anniversary Store in addition to Prizes for completing each Act.

Here's the video breaking it all down.

After a decade of entertaining commanders across the world, Wargaming is pleased to announce that World of Tanks is starting the official celebration of its 10th anniversary. Running across four months, the anniversary celebrations will give players a plethora of surprises to get involved in – including several exciting thematic activities, throwbacks and missions, culminating in a big event in August.

The Acts will no doubt bring back quite a few memories for seasoned players, including the limited return of General Chat which will go live for a week in Random Battles starting tomorrow. Since its debut in 2010, World of Tanks has grown to now boast a community of 160 million registered players. And speaking of seasoned players, be sure to check out our review of World of Tanks 1.0 from our own tank-spert James Cottee.

"For the team and I, the past 10 years have allowed us to make more than a successful game – it has seen the formation of one big, global family," said Max Chuvalov, Publishing Director of World of Tanks. "On behalf of the World of Tanks team, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to our players over the years. You’ve stuck with us through different stages of the game’s development and helped us to create one of the most impactful MMOs in gaming history. As a reward, we have prepared a lot of exciting activities and additions, things that will surprise and please you – all in celebration of 10 amazing years. And remember, together, we can continue to create amazing experiences. So, let the party begin!"

In its current state of development the World of Tanks AR Spectate experience works with replays only, but like magic it can project an epic tank battle onto a tabletop or any similar flat surface. Showcasing all the wonderful detail as seen in World of Tanks 1.0 on PC. From there, you can see all of the action and volumetric detail with a an iPad. And it looks pretty incredible.

World of Tanks has always had one foot in the pool of history and one in the fast-paced strategy action that comes from a deep multiplayer title. By adding AR this highlights the former, offering up an excellent and spectacle driven educational tool for museums, events, and schools.

Check it out.



And here's how it works.

The experimental project has been developed internally at Wargaming and uses “local cloud rendering” to achieve maximum quality and realistic experience for viewers. iPad is connected to PC like a 3D mouse, meanwhile PC does all rendering & sends that back to iPad as video. The AR experiences is based on ARKit for iOS and iPad sends its constant position/orientation to PC, in-game camera in World of Tanks on PC matches the iPad’s position/orientation and sends what it sees back to iPad as video. WoT skybox is made transparent, and the app controls what “slice” of the map in a replay the visitor is seeing at any time.

Long story short the PC renders the replay and sends that to the iPad as video. From there we can chalk up the rest to "it knows where you're looking and positioning the iPad as a camera of sorts". The Wargaming Sydney studio developed the AR technology - and as per our recent interview - has a long history of leading some of the most cutting edge Wargaming tech out there.

To celebrate and, well, show how great it all looks in motion World of Tanks has teamed up with the History Channel to celebrate and provide insight and depth into famous battles and conflicts like the anniversary of the Battle of Kursk and D-Day. Below are two videos showcasing World of Tanks AR Spectate and D-Day.





Now, this is the sort of tech we'd love to see make it's way into other games. Say, exploring the Ancient Greece of Assassin's Creed Odyssey, or even watching a live replay of a DOTA tournament.

Longtime AusGamers contributor and industry veteran, James Cottee, is something of a World of Tanks expert. He's been bombardiering the game for most of its life and was kind enough to share with us a developer deep-dive on World of Tanks: Frontline with input from Regional Product Director, Alex de Giorgio.

Here's a snippet from hi chat and deep-dive Frontline feature:

“1.0 was one of the biggest and most difficult updates we have ever had in World of Tanks, one that was nearly 3 years in the making. Yet even during that launch period we were already focused on the next steps. The reality is you only ever really have a minute to stop and look at what has been achieved before it’s on to the next challenge. That’s one of the reasons we were able to launch Frontline just over a month after 1.0. Frontline was the culmination of a number of ideas and concepts we had been playing with over the past couple of years as well as the experience we gained from Grand Battles (30v30 Tier 10 random battles) or one of the many unique events we have run in the past. As a team we are always looking at offering new experiences built around the high-impact tank battles that are at the core of our game.”

It was a great idea, yet implementing Frontline proved to be a huge technical challenge. “We want the widest number of players to be able to enjoy tanks without needing powerful hardware, and the Core engine which we developed for 1.0 has really helped in this regard. Even so, there were a number of technical hurdles we had to overcome to get Frontline to perform the way we intended, especially with the introduction of respawning and the challenge of potentially having 60 tanks congregate in multiple locations in real time.

Click here for our full World of Tanks: Frontline interview feature.

If, like me, you had no idea that Australia even had its very own tank then this news might surprise you. But then again there's a lot that I don't know. Which is why it was cool to learn that the Centurion tank was used by the Australian Army from 1950 to 1970 where it even saw action in the Vietnam War.

The Centurion Mk. 5/1 RAAC makes its debut in the PC version of World of Tanks today, and will feature reinforced front armor, improved machine guns and a more powerful engine than the British Centurion Mk. V tank. Take that, poms!

"The Centurion tanks were well armored, mobile and easy to maintain. No doubt there will be great anticipation amongst our tankers for the Centurion to roll out,” said Travis Plane, Wargaming Australia Country Manager.

Local, historically relevant content for World of Tanks is great to see - especially with the recent 1.0 patch and the addition of local servers. The 1.0 version of World of Tanks not only gives the game an impressive visual makeover, but also a number of core improvements too.

Before we get to how impressive the new World of Tanks graphics engine is on PC, does anyone else find it a little strange that this is version 1.0? Based on the long history of World of Tanks that's some impressive version control. Which means that going 1.0 is probably a big deal. And it is, with a new graphics engine that, well, looks incredible.

From the improves textures to the introduction of Havok physics and destructible objects. Weather effects. Grass and foliage as far as the eye can see. Impressive lighting. And of course, improved tank detail.

“Update 1.0 improves the baseline technology for the game, introducing the in-house developed Wargaming Core graphics engine,” said Milos Jerabek, Development Director for World of Tanks PC. “Thanks to it, we’re now capable of elevating the entire game and can ensure World of Tanks is a fun and immersive experience for years to come.”

Check it out.



Another cool touch is that even though this brings the visuals of World of Tanks well into 2018, it does so without sacrificing scalability - as the same minimum PC spec requirements carry over to version 1.0. Plus, there's a new and improved soundtrack and a new Glacier map. Tank snow trails!

To celebrate the launch Wargaming is partnering with Intel for a two-week Grand Extravaganza where players can earn in-game goodies and real-world prizes from Intel.

With Wargaming and VRTech announcing the formation of Neurogaming, a new studio to bring the popular online tank battler to the world of Virtual Reality. By all accounts World of Tanks VR will be a separate product, built from the ground up (with assets no doubt from the core game) to take advantage of VR.

It's the sort of project that makes perfect sense for VR, especially because it can leverage off the popularity of World of Tanks.

“With location-based VR, we make the experience more affordable and accessible,” said Slava Makarov, World of Tanks creator and strategic advisor of Neurogaming. “Moreover, unlike any other developer, our biggest aim is to change the experience from one-time involvement to a long-term engaging story with co-op and competitive elements. Working with the Word of Tanks IP and creating an experience for its 180 million community is a massive and exciting opportunity for us.”

Based in Cyprus, Neurogaming will also draw on talent and experience from sutdios from across the globe. In addition to World of Tanks VR the studio is also working on tech for a "VR platform for competitive long-play multiplayer and esports".

After a succesful launch on Xbox 360 first, followed by Xbox One, World of Tanks is set to make its PlayStation 4 debut January 20 this year.

The wait is finally over for PlayStation 4 tankers! Wargaming today announced that World of Tanks will launch January 20, on PlayStation 4. World of Tanks will feature enhanced visuals, utilising the full power of the PlayStation 4 system along with platform specific features and limited-time exclusive content for logging into the game.

Built specifically for PlayStation 4, World of Tanks incorporates platform features that elevate tank warfare on console with complete DUALSHOCK 4 functionality, Share Play and PlayStation Vita Remote Play with optimized controls for the ultimate multiplayer experience. World of Tanks will offer Platinum Trophy, along with four different Founder’s Packs containing a variety of Premium in-game content available now in the PlayStation Store. Players that login before January 31, 2016, will be gifted the T1E6-PS US Premium Light Tank with exclusive camouflage.

World of Tanks on PlayStation 4 is free to all PlayStation accounts and does not require a PlayStation Plus membership to play. PlayStation Plus members will also gain access to a variety of exciting, exclusive content with more information to be shared at a later date.

Have you been waiting for the game to hit PS4?

Also, if you are a World of Tanks player, don't forget to check out our World of Tanks competition!

We're revisiting our World of Tanks promo where someone can win an Amazon Voucher worth $500.00 USD to be used in World of Tanks, with five runners up also eligible for a $100.00 USD Amazon Voucher.

Wargaming.net has teamed up with AusGamers to give away Amazon Vouchers valued at USD $1000 in its mega-successful World of Tanks title! Own all of the tanks!

Despite the game being wholly not pay-to-win, punters still like shiny things, and shiny tanks, and so Wargaming.net has offered up a prize-pool of USD $1000, with a grand prize winner receiving a USD $500 Amazon Voucher, with five runners-up receiving a USD $100 Amazon Voucher each!

How to participate? Simply answer a simple question, register and play World of Tanks! You'll need to be an active player for at least 14 days and have purchased at least one tank.

You need a Wargaming account to win, so register here.

Also, please add in your Wargaming.net in-game name in the extra field when submitting your answer!

To enter, you just need to answer in 25 words or less:

What do you like about World of Tanks?

Click here to enter the competition now!

Joaby seems to think so, and not only enjoyed the launch of the game late last week, but was also able to ride in a real tank and speak at length with its owner about the physical and real demands of controlling one of these hulking metal cabinets.

What results in this is his breakdown of some of the cheap maneuvers the PC crowd pull of in-game, versus the real thing and, how through analogue control on console, said maneuvers are negated, adding perhaps unintentionally, a greater level of realism to an otherwise unrealistic scenario anyway. Still, he makes some good points.

No, in World of Tanks on PC, a common tactic used by seasoned veterans of the game is rocking forward and backwards in and out of cover -- and that just isn't realistic at all. Not even from a mechanical point of view, although changing from forward to reverse in milliseconds did seem like a tough ask. From a perspective of pure physics, a tank simply can't move the way players make them move in the game, rocking backwards and forwards in and out of cover, usually on a 45 degree angle to increase the chances of a bounced round.

Click here for Joa's full Xbox One World of Tanks launch write-up. And let us know if you agree with his points in the Comments below.

Wargaming was kind enough to shoot through more than a handful of beta keys for their newly-hit-beta World of Tanks Generals -- a collectable card game based on the popular tank skirmish title.

We have some 500 to giveaway, but are only offering AusGamers users/members the first 100. There's no trick to it, you just need to be an active member of AusGamers to claim your key.

World of Tanks Generals will be available through web browsers, with versions for Android and iOS arriving in the future. Players can test the PvP mode and PvE training battles, master the game’s basics, build a number of decks, refine their strategy and unlock cards to suit their playstyle.

There are over 200 unique cards available in the Closed Beta Test, split between three factions: the USA, Germany and the USSR; these are then divided into several types. With a huge arsenal of cards and strategies at players’ disposal, battles are an intense skirmish of sudden strikes, tactical trickery and dynamic dueling where Generals must adapt to survive.

The game will utilise the unified Wargaming.net ID that provides instant access to other Wargaming titles, including World of Tanks, World of Tanks Blitz, World of Warplanes and World of Warships.

To claim your key, be sure to click here and also let us know how the beta is in the Comments below.

If you have trouble claiming your key, make sure you're doing it from the Asia Wargaming website right here.

Wargaming's ever-popular free-to-play title World of Tanks will be launching on Xbox One later this year, the company announced in a new trailer today.

Both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions will share battle servers, meaning you won't have to worry about split playerbases thanks to the cross-platform play. Updates will also be received on both consoles at the same time.

Those currently playing on the Xbox 360 and looking to jump over will be pleased to hear that the Xbox One version does support account sharing. This means you'll be able to pick up from where you left on the 360 versions when playing the Xbox One version.

Xbox 360's World of Tanks has done extremely well since its release last year, clocking in 5.4 million downloads, more than 34 million battles and a whopping 52 million hours played.

Wargaming has plans to add in virtual reality support for their money-making title World of Tanks, though only if the Oculus Rift makes it big.

According to Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi, that could happen, but only if the numbers add up. In an interview with CVG, the World of Tanks boss said that, while he's interested in the tech, the Oculus Rift would need to sell around 5-10 million units to justify native support. It's worth watching the interview not just for the Oculus discussion, but also to hear Kislyi use the phrase "magicians of experience".

Talking about the percentage of free-to-play players who spend money, Kislyi stated that "a million is not enough."

"We have to have a certain number of players who pay, from time to time, a little money. So ten million, five million is a good user base. If Xbox One or Oculus Rift reach those numbers, we're there."

Kislyi clarified by saying that if virtual reality becomes a large enough pool to jump into, the company would create an entirely separate Oculus version developed exclusively for VR. This also applies to the Xbox One version, which is in direct contrast to the Xbox 360 playerbase that is already far larger and more profitable.

While PC gaming enthusiasts have had the luxury of waging war on the battlefronts of many various scenarios in Wargaming's team-based massively multiplayer online action game World of Tanks for some time now, Xbox 360 players are finally being given the chance to join in on the tank blowing up action.

Tasked with the mission to destroy the enemy tanks, our own James Cottee has pulled the hatch down and loaded up as much ammo as his mighty vehicle can muster in an effort to see just what the Xbox 360 version has to offer.

Ultimately, it's the combination of accessible gameplay with riveting depth that makes World of Tanks so engrossing. It seems a little strange that the Xbox 360 has received a killer app so late in its life cycle; if you've yet to upgrade to the Xbox One, then this is another good reason to keep your trusty 360 around.

Read on for his full World of Tanks review.

After their announcement earlier last week during Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference, Wargaming has unveiled Xbox 360 beta signups for their free-to-play title World of Tanks.

World of Tanks comes to Xbox 360 with the custom built version of the global online multiplayer phenomenon dedicated to tank warfare in the mid-20th century. Command some of history’s most powerful tanks and experience intense combat where the excitement of battle is enhanced by working together with your tank platoon to win the fight.

For those wanting to participate in the beta program you will need to have a Xbox Gold Membership according to the signup, which is also required for those actually wanting to play the full game when it becomes available.

If you are interested, roll your tank over to the signup page for a chance at getting in.

Developer of the popular "World of" free-to-play titles, Wargaming has today announced that World of Tanks will be making its way to the Xbox 360 for Xbox Live Gold members.

World of Tanks is the first and only team-based massively multiplayer online action game dedicated to armored warfare. Throw yourself into the epic tank battles of World War II with other steel cowboys all over the world. Your arsenal includes more than 150 armored vehicles from America, Germany, and the Soviet Union, carefully detailed with historical accuracy.

Stay tuned for more on the first free-to-play title to come to a Microsoft console.

World of Tanks creators Wargaming continue to bolster their regional presence, announcing The Autumn Series, a cash money tournament for Australian and New Zealand WoT players that will be run over four online qualifier cups, with a final between the top two teams taking place at the Supernova Pop Culture Expo in Mid April 2013.

The tournament is being managed by ESL ANZ, the Australian contingent of the Electronic Sports League, with AU$10,000 in cash up for grabs for the top four places:

The total prize pool for the live finals will be $10,000 AU as well as additional hardware. The prize pool has been divided so every team can be compensated for travel.

1st: $3000 AUD
2nd: $1800 AUD
3rd: $1000 AUD
4th- 8th: $840 AUD

*Cash prizes will be paid out via bank transfer within 30 days after the event.

The first qualifier is scheduled for March 17th, and will be casted live on ESL TV. Interested parties should head over to the official tournament portal at http://www.wot.eslanz.com.au/ to get in on the action.

Wargaming has officially revealed that they will be taking over control of the South East Asia branch for World of Tanks, which will also include those playing in Australia and New Zealand. The new branch will give players a more "thrilling PvP gameplay, convenient payment options, region specific localization and high-level customer support services."

"It's been a pleasure to assist a world-class company like Wargaming," said Stephane Panyasiri, CEO of SEA Gaming Pte Ltd. "The partnership allowed us to leverage powers of each other for the combined benefit and reach considerable results in less than a year's time."

"We'd like to thank our partners, SEA Gaming, for their assistance in establishing our presence in Southeast Asia," said Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming. "We stand firmly on our feet now and are focused on maintaining sustainable long-term growth in the market."

The change affects both Australia and New Zealand in that all future in game and on ground events, and also future leagues will be included in the SEA branch. For more information you can check out their official website which includes SEA specific updates.

In some good news for the Australian gaming industry,VentureBeat is reporting that the Australian based online-game software maker BigWorld has been purchased by Wargaming for a large sum of $45 million.

For those that haven't heard of the publishing company, Wargaming is responsible for the very large free-to-play titles such as World of Tanks and the upcoming World of Warships. In a exclusive interview with VentureBeat, chief executive Victor Kislyi has said that the "acquisition is like many others where a publisher decides to acquire one of its suppliers of a critical tool so that it can stay in control of its own destiny."

The acquisition is said to add more than 25 employees to the ranks, and allow a larger control of the software that Wargaming use to securely launch and run their MMO worlds with the millons of players that it garners. As an added bonus for Wargaming, costs for developing their titles will obviously be much lower now that the studio is in-house.

For the full article you can head over to VentureBeat, which goes into a bit more detail about the acquisition of BigWorld.

It looks like the developers have been listening and working hard to fix some aspects of World of Tanks as a major new patch has just landed. They have also included 2 new maps with this patch. I hope the tank visibility tweaks are a big improvement. Invisible heavies charging at you has been a real piss-off. A snippet of the changes are available below; for the full list check out this post in the official forums:

•Added new vehicles: premium heavy Lowe and KV-5, KV-13 and Pz38NA, tier 8 SPGs: Object 261, GW-E serie, T-92.
•Readjusted visibility parameters of all vehicles while standing still and on the move.
•Introduced detailed damage mechanics for tracks. Reworked durability of tracks and repair time for all vehicles.
•Increased match-making value for tier 9 medium tanks.
•Reworked vehicle movement system – sticking at vertical surfaces and map borders is nearly eliminated. Reduced chance of getting stuck in terrain objects.
•Changed damage mechanics for tracks. You can damage tracks if you hit the leading or the rearmost wheel of the tank. It will be much more difficult to detrack it by hitting middle part of the tank.
•Added the possibility of dismounting non-demountable equipment (Rammer, Coated Optics and other) for 10 gold.
•Added the automated ban system for teamkillers.
•Added new maps: Mountain Pass and Steppes.
•Corrected a lot of mistakes connected with objects’ disposition, passing ability, getting stuck on most of the maps.
•Fixed a lot of rendering errors, increased the efficiency of advanced dynamic shadows

You can download the full World of Tanks client now locally from AusGamers (~2GB), or if you're an existing Tanker we have the patch available as well (~900MB). promoted/edited forum item