00:00Ten seconds out. Confirm everything in that building is a target.
00:03Clear. Hot. Go hot.
00:04Ugly 1-1. Target is inside. Coming shooter.
00:07Abort. Abort. Allies. Allies in the building.
00:15This video is sponsored by... No, it's not. It's not sponsored by War Thunder.
00:19It's just a video that I really wanted to make on this game because I think everybody, everybody who loves FPS games need to know about this next major update.
00:28Okay, so War Thunder's next major update, called Line of Contact, is shaping up to be the biggest structural shift the game has had in years.
00:36The infantry mode has finally been confirmed, detailed directly by Gaijin in a full developer blog.
00:42And it looks absolutely amazing because now with this infantry FPS mode, you've got war on air, on sea, on ground, and you've got infantry now.
00:53So it's like a completely new Battlefield game that will be releasing, for example.
00:56We now have concrete systems, maps, mechanics, and clear explanation of how infantry will blend into the existing combined arm structure.
01:05The most important detail is that infantry will launch as a closed beta test first.
01:10This year, it's modern era only for now, focused on US and Russian infantry units.
01:18Gaijin isn't dumping 10 nations' worth of infantry into the game on day one.
01:22They're starting small, controlling variables, and introducing mechanics gradually so they can tune balance, performance, and player flow without everything melting down.
01:32The equipment is preset for the initial test.
01:34We're not jumping straight into fully customizable loadouts.
01:37Instead, players will pick from curated kits that include modern assault rifles like the M4A1, an AK-74, light machine guns, DMR-style rifles, grenade launchers, drones, party armoteers, and specialty gear, which already sounds awesome for a new mode that's just being released.
01:55It's practical, it's realistic, and more importantly, it reduces early chaos while Gaijin gathers data on how infantry interacts with armor and aircraft already in the game.
02:04So this is pretty huge.
02:06The first infantry-focused map, Granitograd, is also explained clearly.
02:10It's an eastern European city environment, dense, multi-story buildings, tight interiors, outdoor plazas, but partially destroyed malls, schools, motor pools, and plenty of verticality.
02:22If you know War Thunder, you know that the maps are absolutely massive.
02:26So with infantry coming up, this is like, again, this is a full-on battle kit game.
02:31It's also just not a tank map with a few alleys for soldiers to run around.
02:36It's a space designed specifically for infantry to matter, giving them cover, flanking routes, vantage points, and interior fighting spaces where tanks simply can't push in without support.
02:47It's also telling that Gaijin is introducing two separate infantry battle modes.
02:51Arcade battles will mix infantry with vehicles in a more relaxed rule set, letting players hop in quickly and experiment without worrying too much.
02:59About nations' balance or strict realism.
03:02Realistic battles, on the other hand, have separate nations.
03:05You typically remove markers, enforce more authentic equipment setups, and create situations where infantry needs to think about suppression, line of sight, positioning, and cooperation with tanks.
03:16That structure shows intent.
03:18They want infantry to feel meaningful and grounded, not a tacked-on afterthought.
03:23Another important change is the emphasis on environmental design.
03:26For years, War Thunder's urban maps were made with tank flow, air vehicles, cover placement, and line of sight for all four vehicles in mind.
03:34Now the layouts for infantry maps are being built with human-scale combat first.
03:39Tight corridors, enterable buildings, vertical angles, and areas where infantry can lock down space even with armor nearby.
03:46It's the kind of design shift players have been asking for since the earliest speculation about infantry five or six years ago.
03:54A detail that might be overlooked is the testing philosophy itself.
03:58The devlog makes it clear that infantry is treated as a long-term investment, not a one-patch experiment or a Nebro fool's joke.
04:06Additional nations will be added later.
04:08More gear, more attachments, more map types, more tactical tools.
04:12There's even confirmations that early weapons, armor systems, strong mechanics, and explosive devices will evolve as needed based on feedback.
04:21It also helps that infantry will be updated in real time during the beta.
04:25Animations, hit reactions, ballistics, recalls, and mobility will be adjusted as players stress the system.
04:31War Thunder's community can be overly passionate at times, but that pressure can be productive when the devs are actually listening to what the players want with infantry.
04:41And Gaijin is directly asking for feedback because they know infantry affects everything.
04:46Vehicles, aircraft, map flow, pacing, and even matchmaking design.
04:50For players wondering if this is a good moment to return or try the game for the first time with this major update coming soon,
04:57there are a few reasons why the timing actually makes sense.
05:00First, this is the start of infantry's life cycle.
05:03The early months will shape the future of the entire mode.
05:06If you want your goals to matter, whether you care about regal values, armor effectiveness, map clarity, or how vehicles and infantry interact,
05:14this is when Gaijin is most open to making structural changes.
05:18Second, modern infantry inherently draws a broader audience that tanks or gents alone cannot.
05:24Some people love War Thunder's depth, but gets turned off by long learning curves or vehicle-specific mechanics.
05:30Infantry lowers that entry barrier.
05:33The moment someone realizes they can contribute with a rifle, a drone, a grenade, or simple positioning,
05:39the game becomes less intimidating, and that means there will be much more players playing.
05:44Third, the update unifies War Thunder's identity.
05:47For years, it's been a combined arms game in theory.
05:49Now, it can become one in practice.
05:52Infantry gives matches more layers, like ground level skirmishes, rooftop angles, coordinated pushes with armor, drone scouting,
05:59vertical combat in buildings, elements that were impossible before.
06:03Fourth, the pace of update matters.
06:05Gaijin has been releasing major patches faster in the past two years.
06:09An infantry being added now means every patch after Line of Contact, which is this major update,
06:15would likely include tuning and expansions for this mode.
06:18If you join early, you're not waiting years for progress.
06:21You'll see monthly and seasonal improvements every time.
06:25The bigger question is long-term viability.
06:27Can infantry remain balanced against tanks and helicopters?
06:30Can the performance overhead support dozens of infantry players with destructible environments,
06:36vehicles, and aircraft all at once?
06:38Will maps evolve to prevent spawn trapping or wide-open kill zones,
06:42where tanks simply farm infantry?
06:44These are legitimate concerns, and they're why the close beta framing is so important.
06:49War Thunder finally feels like it's stepping into the zone people imagined a decade ago.
06:54Not as the greatest thing ever, but as a more complete representation of combined arms.
06:59Literally what War Thunder was supposed to be from the beginning.
07:03It's been a really long journey.
07:04It's like, I was really excited for this game, I remember, years and years ago.
07:08But they just never added infantry and all those things that people would absolutely enjoy.
07:14But now, it's finally coming, and it looks actually really good from all the footage that we've seen,
07:20and the details and all.
07:22And if Gaijin manages to tune the pacing, the damage model, the hit detection, and the map flow properly,
07:28infantry could become a pillar of War Thunder, not a novelty.
07:32For new players, that's the reason to pay attention.
07:34For returning veterans, it's a reason to reinstall.
07:38And for anyone who's followed War Thunder's evolution since the early tank days,
07:43this update marks a rare moment where the game generally shifts direction,
07:48instead of just adding more vehicles to the tech trees.
07:50Let me know if you guys are excited.
07:52This update will finally get you back in War Thunder,
07:55or if it will make you install it for the first time.
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