Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 495 sampled Steam reviews (275 positive / 220 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Grind & repetition10% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Grind & repetition20% mention it
- Difficulty & balance14% mention it
- Monetization13% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers11% mention it
- Bugs & crashes10% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
59%
51 reviews
5-15h
73%
96 reviews
15-40h
68%
59 reviews
40-100h
55%
66 reviews
100h+
44%
223 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 75 | 4 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 71% | 68 | 1892 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 44 | 31 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 64% | 63 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 27, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 9910 total reviews in window · weighted 187.8 up / 81.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (22)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“War Thunder is a game you must play. After all, it's free. Even if you keep crashing, it can absorb you easily and you'll end up creating your own squad with your friends and find out that a flight simulator can be really amusing. Even the information details about planes can be interesting. ”
read full review ↗ - 78
“War Thunder Xbox One works well to provide an authentic experience whether you're on the ground in a tank or in the air flying around as a plane.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While the initial learning curve is daunting, this is one of those games that opens up dramatically the more that you play it, so the time commitment is worthwhile whether you're a laidback dogfighter or a hardcore simmer.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“For all of its variation in gameplay, War Thunder just never really feels very engaging. The extremely tactical nature that makes its closest relative so addictive just doesn't exist, and while that's not the only way to make a war sim entertaining, Gaijin haven't offered a suitable alternative.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Even as a beta release this is an impressively entertaining, and accessible, combat flight simulator, and a welcome break from the shoot ‘em-up norm.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“War Thunder rules the air but the lack of polish hurts, as does the dull ground warfare.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“War Thunder is easily among the best of what is offered on the PlayStation Store. It stands head and shoulders above the other free to play offerings and even over many at cost. The core of this lies in the generous free to play model which allows you to play for hour and hours without paying a dime. Though microtransactions were disabled in the pre-release version, I did get to explore the store and actually make some purchases in the EU release. A pillar of War Thunder’s longevity lies in its generous free to play model that allows you to play for hour and hours without paying a dime. That's the way free to play should be done.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“War Thunder is a good game with a lot of potential, but a slew of small problems make it hard to recommend to players who aren't already fans of the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 90
- 72
“It’s mostly the moments in between battles that bring the whole experience down, as a lack of information and poor menus tarnish this flying ace.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“War Thunder is a free look at beautiful airplanes and intense dogfights, with controls that can be as arcady or realistic as you want them to be. The lack of certain content and the cluttered menu's stand in the way of a higher grade.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Easy to get into, difficult to master, and free as a bird. Definitely sample-worthy. [February 2014, p79]”
Gamerheadquarters
GameSpot
GameGrin
Metro GameCentral
PC Gamer
MMORPG.com
GamingBolt
GameOnly
IGN…and 10 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Update 2.57.1.111Aug 27, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Reshuffles to the Ground Vehicle Research Trees in the Next Major UpdateAug 25, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.103Aug 20, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.98Aug 19, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Community Update No.12: Keeping You Updated On What We’re Working on!Aug 18, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- It’s fixed! №117Aug 12, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.81Aug 11, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.70Aug 6, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.67Aug 4, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.60Aug 1, 2026
- Update 2.57.1.58Jul 30, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- It’s fixed! №116Jul 29, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.50Jul 28, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.48Jul 24, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.43Jul 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- New Run of Nuclear Escalation!Jul 22, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.38Jul 22, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.33Jul 21, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.29Jul 16, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.22Jul 14, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.12Jul 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Infantry in War Thunder: Third Testing Phase!Jul 8, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.1.7Jul 7, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.0.35Jul 3, 2026
- Update 2.57.0.32 — Sound Mods AvailableJul 2, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.0.30Jul 1, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.0.27Jun 30, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.0.25Jun 29, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Update 2.57.0.17Jun 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window