War Thunder vs World of Warships
War Thunder is a mmorpg simulation game from Gaijin Entertainment (2012) while World of Warships is a mmorpg simulation game from Lesta Games (2015).
What each one is
Steam files War Thunder under Mmorpg and Simulation. In contrast, it files World of Warships under Mmorpg and Simulation.
War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, and naval craft, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. Join now and take part in major battles on land, in the air, and at sea.
Immerse yourself in thrilling naval battles and assemble an armada of over 800 ships from the first half of the 20th century — from stealthy destroyers to gigantic battleships. Change the look of your ship, choose upgrades to suit your play style, and go into battle with other players!
At a glance
| War Thunder | World of Warships | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.2/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Mostly Positive (71%, 779,529) | Mostly Positive (76%, 156,252) |
| Critic aggregate | 81/100 | 81/100 |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Install size | 70 GB | 67.2 GB |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2012 | 2015 |
| Developer | Gaijin Entertainment | Lesta Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
War Thunder vs World of Warships, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
War ThunderMmorpg simulation gameWorld of WarshipsMmorpg simulation gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
War ThunderFree to Play, Simulation, Vehicular CombatWorld of WarshipsFree to Play, Naval Combat, ActionThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
War Thunder ✓Score 7.2 · 71% on Steam · 81 criticWorld of WarshipsScore 7.1 · 76% on Steam · 81 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
War Thunder779,529 reviews · 35 add-ons · 70 GBWorld of Warships156,252 reviews · 23 add-ons · 67.2 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
War ThunderFreeWorld of WarshipsFreeRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
War Thunder ✓VerifiedWorld of WarshipsPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
War Thunder takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueWar Thunder and World of Warships on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: War Thunder (GamingPickz Score 7.2)
- Better on a Steam Deck: War Thunder (verified)
- Lighter on storage: World of Warships (67.2 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: War Thunder (779,529 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Free to PlaySimulationWorld War IIWarMilitaryMultiplayerNaval CombatMassively Multiplayer
Where they differ
Vehicular CombatCombatFlightVRTanksModern
Co-opTacticalOnline Co-OpNavalPvPTeam-Based
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, War Thunder is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. World of Warships is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| War Thunder | World of Warships | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 1280x720; Nvidia®Geforce® GT 640 Intel UHD 630 AMD Radeon™ R7 240 |
| Minimum CPU | Dual-Core 2.2 GHz | Intel® Core™ i3-3210 3,2 GHz AMD Athlon™ X4 970 Quad Core 3,8 GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 6 GB |
| Install size | 70 GB | 67.2 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: War Thunder · World of Warships.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 7 accessibility features for War Thunder and 4 for World of Warships. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are War Thunder and World of Warships in scope?
War Thunder has drawn 779,529 Steam reviews, ships 35 add-ons and installs in 70 GB. World of Warships has drawn 156,252 Steam reviews, ships 23 add-ons and installs in 67.2 GB.
Is War Thunder or World of Warships better?
By the GamingPickz Score, War Thunder rates higher (7.2 to 7.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, War Thunder or World of Warships?
War Thunder is cheaper right now at Free, against Free. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.