War Thunder’s Next Major Update Will Take Ground Battles to Darwin Hill
The Falkland Islands-inspired map will arrive alongside Red Desert balance changes and visual overhauls for the Falkland Islands and Afghanistan air locations.
War Thunder will expand its Ground Battles lineup with Darwin Hill, a new location inspired by the Falkland Islands, in the game’s next major update. The same update will adjust Red Desert’s high-ground sightlines and refresh the visuals of the Falkland Islands and Afghanistan air locations.
Gaijin Entertainment has not announced a release date for the update. Its Steam announcement provides a closer look at the map work, including the setting’s scenery, building styles, and several smaller details players can find during a match.
Darwin Hill was already among the features outlined in War Thunder’s next major update plans. The new information places the map near the settlement of Darwin in the South Atlantic, an area associated with fierce clashes between British commandos and Argentine forces.
Darwin Hill brings the Falkland Islands to Ground Battles
The map will use a treeless plain biome, rugged rocky coasts, and wide patches of yellow gorse to recreate the character of the Falkland Islands. Its open terrain will be broken up by farms, roads, bays, and inlets, giving tanks and aircraft several different environments to fight across.
Architecture is another major part of the setting. Homes will feature rainwater collection tanks because the Falklands do not have a centralized water supply, while most buildings are single-story structures designed for the harsh climate. Farms also include greenhouses, fenced areas for poultry and livestock, and other details tied to rural life.
The coastal areas will reflect the region’s connection to the sea with piers, fishing boats, and small yachts scattered around the bays. Gaijin has also hidden homemade posters created by local residents and reworked to fit the War Thunder universe, giving observant players a few Easter eggs to find.
Red Desert receives changes to high-ground positions
Red Desert is also receiving a balance pass. Much of the map could previously be covered by fire from elevated positions, leaving vehicles exposed across large sections of the battlefield. The update will reduce the strength of those firing positions while keeping high-ground engagements as part of the map’s design.
Terrain around the spawn points will be lowered as well, giving vehicles more protection from immediate fire after entering the match. In Domination mode, the area around point A will see a more direct change: surrounding high ground will be leveled, and the capture point will sit inside a wider natural depression. Battles for the center should consequently rely more on close-range fighting instead of constant fire from across the map.
Falkland Islands and Afghanistan air maps get visual overhauls
Pilots will receive two visual refreshes while Gaijin continues work on a larger update to the core rendering technology for air maps. The Falkland Islands and Afghanistan air locations will both receive overhauled terrain and surface textures in the upcoming major update.
The Falkland Islands air map will use a more accurate heightmap taken from the new ground-vehicle version of the location. That change will create more varied terrain, while real satellite imagery will be used to rework the surface textures across both locations.
Afghanistan will also gain new environmental assets, including suburban structures, kilns, and clay pits. Those additions are intended to give the desert setting more regional character instead of leaving its wide open spaces feeling bare.
Gaijin says more information about the next major update will follow, but Darwin Hill, the Red Desert changes, and the two air-map overhauls are still scheduled content rather than live features. Which part of the map update interests you most? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
War Thunder
Developed by Gaijin Entertainment
War Thunder is a free-to-play vehicular combat MMO featuring aircraft, ground vehicles, and naval craft spanning from the early 20th century to the modern era. Players progress through technology trees across multiple nations, unlocking increasingly advanced military vehicles. The game offers three realism tiers for each vehicle type: arcade, realistic, and simulator modes. Originally developed as a flight simulator under the name "World of Planes," the game expanded to include tanks in 2014 and naval forces later, becoming a combined-arms experience. A mobile version was released in 2023.
- Genre Shooter, Simulator, Tactical
- Platforms Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One
- Perspective First person, Third person, Virtual Reality
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO)
- Release January 28, 2013
- Publisher Gaijin Entertainment
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Age Rating
