Looking for the best tank games for PC in 2023? It's never boring to go into battle with a vehicle that weighs as much as ten elephants and can destroy entire buildings with a single shot, but it's not always easy to find a tank game that meets all the key requirements. If you are looking for the best free tank games or the best armored division simulators, you have come to the right place.
The best tank games are great because they are designed to make you, the player, feel both strong and invincible at the same time. But the tank is also synonymous with intense firefights and immense claustrophobia. The agony of reloading, the slow pace, and the fact that you're the enemy's priority target, and a big one at that, make tank games as nerve-wracking as they are thrilling.
There have been countless great games created over the years; this genre has been around since the days of the Apple II. From hyper-realistic, control-heavy simulators to arcade-style, point-and-shoot, blast-based simulators (and maybe even a sneaky anime RPG or two), there's a tank game for every type of player.
Here are the best tank games on PC:
War Thunder
Leviathan of free online tank games, War Thunder favors tough tactics, ingenious stats and obsessive attention to detail. Unlike rival World of Tanks, War Thunder cannot claim to be available. The game has a ridiculous amount of tanks and research branches; you can easily waste hours of your time finding the wrong tank. In addition, War Thunder boasts complex and sophisticated armor penetration mechanics that make you think carefully before taking even one shot.
While War Thunder's arcade mode is good for introducing gamers to some of the game's core mechanics, you can't consider yourself a War Thunder veteran until you emerge victorious from the battle simulator. This stripped-down game mode limits vision, disables aim assist, and significantly increases the time it takes to perform any action. Every encounter is a tactical nightmare.
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Step into the boots of a master tankman (yes, we made that word up) and carve your mighty armored path across the iconic battlefields of World War II in Enlisted. This free-to-play MMO from Gaijin Entertainment recreates several key campaigns in atmospheric detail and features - you guessed it - a whole bunch of tanks for you to deploy and control during each battle.
The game's commitment to historical accuracy means that every tank and armored vehicle available in the campaign corresponds directly to those available during the actual war, so there's no danger of K2's Black Panther rolling up and anachronistically ruining your battle reverie. Additionally, each member of your AI squad specializes in a specific tactic, and it's up to you to decide whether you'll watch the battle unfold from the (relative) safety of your steel carapace, or switch to infantry or air power for a different perspective. Hooray!
World of Tanks
If you're looking for a hardcore tank game that you can play for a lifetime, then you'd better steer clear of World of Tanks. This free-to-play titan offers fast and frenetic gameplay with few realistic elements. This is one of the best tank games for casual gamers who are looking for the road to big tank action, and at the same time, it has enough depth and progression that gamers will not lose interest in the game until the very latest levels of unlockable tanks.
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Perhaps World of Tanks's greatest strength is its roster of over 800 armored vehicles, ranging from scouts to battlefield giants. In addition, the game features vehicles from France, Great Britain, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Soviet Russia, USA and China, which makes the World of Tanks game very diverse.
World War 3
This is a pure multiplayer game where you have to fight against other players on the war-torn streets of cities like Berlin and Moscow. As you probably already understood from the title, this game is a hypothetical third world war, with all the forces in the game based on modern military weapons.
Of course, World War III wouldn't be on this list if it didn't feature tanks, and sure, you can have fun driving a tank on an urban battlefield, blowing up people as you find them. But that's not all - there are quite a few different vehicles in the game that you can use in battle (both ground and air), and they help add variety to the battles.
Call of War: World War II
Sometimes you want to play a game where you drive a tank yourself, blowing up enemies, and sometimes you want a game where you see the whole war from top to bottom and can direct tanks to where they are most needed. That's the perspective you'll get in Call of War: World War II, the free-to-play strategy MMO.
In this game you will play the role of one of the main participants in the Second World War, and you and many other players will be able to change the entire course of history with your actions. As you can imagine, Call of War: World War II cannot be completed in one session - instead, you will return again and again over a huge period of time IRL, deciding where to invest time and resources, be it research to develop the economy or strengthen the army to become an unstoppable conqueror. This is a game that you can easily put many hours into.
Valkyria Chronicles 4
Tanks evoke a sense of power. You break through the battlefields, clad in metal, smashing various buildings to smithereens. However, not every game allows you to do this. In Valkyria Chronicles 4, for example, you'll feel insecure if you jump into a fight of your own free will, making for an appealing mix of power and strategy.
Sega's tactical RPG puts you in the shoes of a caped officer tasked with leading your unit through the grim reality of war. While you're fighting enemies in turn-based combat, one of the units you summon is a tank. Play smart and you'll blow them to pieces in a clever flanking maneuver; make the wrong move and you'll find your tank stopped by the Lancer.
The political climate of Europe before World War II inspires the setting of Valkyria Chronicles 4. However, visually, the game looks closer to anime, which gives it a visual charm compared to other tank games.
Panzer corps 2
Nearly nine years after the release of Panzer Corps, the release date for Panzer Corps 2 is finally here. In addition to a huge visual update, the World War II strategy game sequel also expands the tank battle experience to include over 1000 unique units (compared to 800 units in Panzer Corps) and an extensive campaign including 60 scenarios.
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The multiplayer offerings are also plentiful: there are several ways to fight online against or with friends, and thanks to extensive modding support and a powerful scenario editor, you can organize the tank battles of your dreams.
Armored Warfare
While the "MMO", "free-to-play" and "tank" labels apply to Armored Warfare just as much as they do to World of Tanks, a number of key differences make both games worth considering for tank gaming veterans. Bringing the surprisingly accessible gameplay of World of Tanks into the modern era, Armored Warfare gives tankers more vehicles, newer tanks, and a selection of versatile tank technologies that add more variety to the core gameplay.
In addition, Armored Warfare brings PVE to the game, allowing you to team up with friends to take on artificial enemies while advancing through the tank ranks without losing out to highly skilled PVP opponents.
Steel Armor: Blaze Of War
What could be more fun than blowing things up and driving through buildings? Careful crew and internal management to the point where you forget you're in a tank and start believing you're a factory driver...obviously.
Steel Armor: Blaze of War offers new possibilities for tank gaming by revisiting the battlefields of the Iran-Iraq conflicts of the 1980s. Tank fans will be delighted by the incredible attention to detail - there are only two tanks in the game, but both are rendered with amazing detail, inside and out. Although difficult and at times inaccessible, Steel Armor's dry zest for military vehicles makes it a must-play for tank game veterans and war game fans who want a more modern setting.
Panzer Elite Action: Gold Edition
Combining two classic Panzer games in one Steamrelease, Panzer Elite Action: Gold Edition is hours upon hours of driving tanks across World War II battlefields and blowing things up - which is exactly what we need sometimes. Incredibly user-friendly yet full of exciting mechanics and unlockables, Panzer Elite Action is a tank game about surviving famous historical campaigns to fight another day.
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Playing on the side of the Allies or the Axis in various famous conflicts, Panzer Elite Action puts you in control of four or five tanks and sends you on a merry ride, blowing things up and hiding behind hedgerows looking for some semblance of cover. Although the game lacks the realism of its Panzer Elite ancestor, the need to take care of your crew and upgrade your vehicles makes the game thrilling from start to finish.
Arma 3
170 miles of untouched military sandbox await players in Arma 3 - a huge open world that will give your tanks an overwhelming sense of scale. Gone are the days of having to fight bombed cities in close combat, Arma 3 gives players a new source of anxiety in the form of having to constantly scan the horizons for new threats. Buildings and natural cover are sparse, meaning survival and victory depend on being able to spot and destroy the enemy before they even know you're there.
While Arma 3 is not a tank game, it has an incredible level of realism that brings the concept of modern tank warfare to life. Indeed, Arma 3's realism has led news organizations to mistake it for actual military footage. Playing as the armored arm of a massive army is what Arma 3 does best: assisting ground attacks, hunting down enemy tanks and wreaking havoc on strongholds.
Steel Division 2
Another game for armchair generals, Steel Division 2 is a strategy game set during the Eastern Front during World War II. You take command of the entire Soviet army as they fight against the Nazi regime in real time across 25 maps and multiple game modes.
When we talk about maps, we mean battlefields up to 150x100 kilometers, over 600 types of units that you can use to achieve victory in a single or co-op campaign, and even in multiplayer matches with up to ten players. from each side.
Unlike other RTS games, Steel Division 2 places less emphasis on collecting resources, preferring to command tanks and blow up enemies - all the fun. If you want to see 20 generals fight on a huge map, then this is the game for you.
Battlefield 2042
Careful positioning is the key to survival in most tank games. Battlefield 2042 tanks hate careful positioning. Battlefield 2042's tanks love to drive really fast, knock helicopters out of the sky and make little ground dwellers run and hide behind buildings. Battlefield 2042's tanks are ridiculous.
Racing across the map, causing untold damage and ruining the carefully laid plans of your fellow soldiers is the order of the day in Battlefield 2042. This is the most powerful tank gameplay, allowing players to become Death on the tracks and leave all notions of tactics and strategy behind as they roam the map, trading shells for XP.
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If you prefer more old-school tanks, you can head over to Battlefield Portal, a game mode that takes elements from classic Battlefield games and makes them playable in Battlefield 2042.
Heroes & Generals
Forget the strategic metagame that accompanies the exciting ground combat of Heroes & Generals, and you still get a hectic combined forces war game in which tanks play a vital role. Turn on the metagame and Heroes & Generals becomes the complete package for a tanker, offering everything from resource management to explosive first-person combat.
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Heroes & Generals doesn't have many tank management features to constantly pay attention to, so the focus is on creating chaos. The combined forces element of Heroes & Generals gives your role as a tank commander real power on the battlefield, where your actions can make all the difference to your comrades, whether on the ground or in the air. If you like WWII military vehicles, then Heroes & Generals is one of the best free games for Steamwhich you can get.
Red orchestra 2
Tanks aren't the name of the game in this realistic Eastern Front shooter, but the way they fit seamlessly into its gut-wrenching gameplay makes for some of the best tank moments in the world.
Red Orchestra 2 uses ballistics and armor penetration mechanics similar to War Thunder, making every encounter between two tanks an adrenaline-pumping duel where skill and precision trump brute strength. The constant threat of instant fiery death at the hands of enemy anti-tank troops is just part of what makes this game one of the best multiplayer games on PC.
Company of Heroes 2
Bringing the brilliantly polished gameplay of the first RTS game to the Eastern Front, Company of Heroes 2 is SEGA's game of tactical ingenuity and making the best use of your tanks. Cover, line of sight, and suppression are the keys to success in Company of Heroes 2, which means you'll have to direct your resources using real combat tactics if you want to fend off the Axis threat.
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Tanks in Company of Heroes 2 are devastatingly powerful and can turn the tide of any battle, they are a pleasure to send to enemy infantry units and watch how losses grow. Like all good tank games, Company of Heroes 2 recognizes the vulnerability of tanks and punishes players who send their armored units into battle without due care.
Panzer corps
Panzer Corps is old school turn-based strategy gaming at its absolute finest. Putting yourself in the shoes of a Wehrmacht general, you must oversee and manage operations in 26 grueling Axis campaigns.
Ignoring the fact that you're fighting for the bad guys, the focus of Panzer Corps is on leading your units to victory. There are over 800 unit types spread across 20 classes, resulting in an endless number of attack options for both sides. If that wasn't confusing enough, each unit has about 20 parameters that evaluate its strengths and weaknesses - that's all a battlefield mathematician could need, making this one of the best the best strategies in the world.
Stand down, commander: your training is over. Now you know all the best tank games you can play on PC and you are ready to start your own destruction campaign.
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