War Thunder Will Credit Kills When Players Abandon Tanks or Ships
The upcoming mechanic will search within 3 km for ground targets and 20 km for naval targets, but credited kills will pay half the standard reward.
War Thunder will add kill credit for abandoned tanks and ships with its next major update, giving players a reward when an opponent leaves their vehicle instead of waiting to be destroyed. The system will expand a mechanic that already exists in Air Battles to Ground and Naval Battles.
Gaijin Entertainment explained the rules in its Steam announcement. Players can leave a ground vehicle or ship through the ESC menu or by holding the default J key. Once that happens, the game will look for the nearest enemy or the enemy responsible for the closest projectile.
The search area will depend on the battle type. Ground vehicles will use a radius of 3 km, while ships will use a much wider 20 km radius. If the game assigns the kill through this system, the player will receive half of the normal kill reward.
Projectiles Can Take Priority Over Enemy Vehicles
Tank and naval battles will handle the mechanic differently from Air Battles. The game will not automatically prioritize a player vehicle over a projectile. If a shell or missile is the closest object when the opponent abandons their vehicle, the player who fired it will receive the kill credit and the related statistic.
The check will include both guided and unguided projectiles. That means a nearby missile is treated the same way as a nearby conventional shell when the game determines who should receive credit.
If no enemy or projectile is found within the relevant range, nobody will receive the kill, just as before. Gaijin Entertainment said it will share more information about the upcoming major update as development continues.
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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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