Tanks For Nothing!: Free-to-Compete MMO Armored Warfare Revealed

Armored Warfare, a new tactical military MMO, was revealed by Obsidian Entertainment today in collaboration with My.com, a subsidiary of Russian publisher Mail.Ru.

While Obsidian is better known for their rich fantasy RPG storytelling, the studio is showing its flexible by helping create a game where players control an armored vehicle and not an armored knight. Indeed, Armored Warfare is yet another tank sim, seemingly not unlike World of Tanks or the upcoming Ground Forces expansion for War Thunder. However, Armored Warfare separates itself by completing skipping over early tank history, opting to bring the tank battles entirely into the 21st century.

Richard Taylor, Project Director of Obsidian Entertainment, explains that “Armored Warfare gives players two deep levels of upgrading and progression through a huge array of both military vehicles and their own personal military base, each giving players a diverse and wide-ranging path of strategies".

Similar to how wars are run today, players will begin the game as a "military contractor" tasked with maintaining a wide array of militaristic vehicles including long-range artillery and main battle tanks. As the weeks of war roll on, players can upgrade their tanks and crew using a "robust reputation and experience system".

Dynamic environments, including destructible terrain will help set the mood in Armored Warfare, and players will be able to participate in both PvP and PvE modes. Obsidian says they plan to push out "regular content updates, including new vehicles and game modes, all for the best price possible! 100% free".

The closed beta for Armored Warfare is scheduled to launch sometime in 2014. Players can already signup for the beta on the official Armored Warfare site.