World of Tanks: HEAT – Why Wargaming Is Taking a Risk Worth Watching

For over a decade, Wargaming has built its reputation on deep, tactical simulations like World of Tanks and World of Warships. These games were slow-burners, emphasising positioning, precision, and patience. Yet gaming audiences are shifting, and so too are expectations. Enter World of Tanks: HEAT, a project that reimagines the classic armoured warfare formula as a free-to-play hero tank shooter.

Announced at Gamescom 2025 Opening Night Live, the reveal trailer surprised veterans and newcomers alike. For some, it felt like a jarring departure: why abandon the deliberate pacing that defined the series? But according to Wargaming, HEAT is not a replacement.

“HEAT is a game that keeps the DNA of World of Tanks. It’s in the same universe, but it’s a standalone project that combines that sort of deep progression combat simulator, tank vehicle-based gameplay, with a hero shooter set-up,” shared John Peck, Product Marketing Manager.

Agents, Abilities, and a New Kind of Strategy

At the heart of World of Tanks: HEAT is a shift towards immediacy. Matches are 10v10, built around agents with ultimate abilities and customisable tanks. This is a world where a tank might suddenly boost across the battlefield, deploy a forcefield, or unleash an airstrike. On paper, it sounds chaotic, but in practice, it blends the accessibility of a hero shooter with the tactical grit of tank combat.

The alternate-history World War II setting gives the developers creative licence, but the design still pays homage to Wargaming’s roots. Players can customise modules, experiment with team composition, and explore maps that balance chokepoint intensity with vertical variety. The result is a strange but compelling hybrid: faster, flashier, but still undeniably World of Tanks.

Building Fairness Into the Fight

What often makes or breaks a PvP game is matchmaking. Here, Wargaming has borrowed lessons from the mainline series, promising balance not through rigid tiers but by weighing player history, win rates, and overall tank power. With ten agents, fifteen tanks, and five maps at launch, the game is designed to give the competitive meta room to breathe and evolve.

“You can play any of these classes. There are no limitations. You can play them however you want, the same way people do sniper rifle builds with no scope gameplay. You just gotta bring some skills that, because your glass cannon is not going to be able to take nearly as much damage,” added Peck.

Equally important is the business model. Wargaming insists that World of Tanks: HEAT is free-to-play and free-to-win, with monetisation restricted to cosmetics and time savers. For a studio that has been scrutinised for monetisation practices, this stance could make or break player trust.

Why World of Tanks: HEAT Matters for Wargaming’s Future

Perhaps the most radical element of HEAT isn’t the hero shooter design, but its cross-platform and cross-progression support — the first time Wargaming has committed to such an ecosystem. Launching across PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam Deck, the game is positioned to unify audiences that were previously fragmented.

Ultimately, World of Tanks: HEAT feels more like a parallel path: a chance to experiment, to take risks, and to see whether tanks can thrive in a world where immediacy and spectacle often matter as much as depth. It may not convert every purist, but it signals a Wargaming ready to evolve.

World of Tanks: HEAT will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam Deck.