Is War Thunder Biased towards Russia?
War Thunder is a popular military flight combat multiplayer game developed by Gaijin Entertainment. Since its release, the game has gained a massive following globally, but controversy surrounding the game’s portrayal of various nations’ military aircraft has been persistent. The core question raised by many gamers is whether War Thunder, particularly the Soviet-era air forces, has an uncanny familiarity with the hardware and scenarios, often mimicking Soviet-era airforces. Does this constitute "Russian bias" or rather a commendable representation of the war history?
Contents
- 1 Criticisms: Historical inaccuracies and exaggerated Russian involvement
- 2 Support and justifications from the War Thunder Dev Team
- 3 Statistics supporting War Thunder’s effort and historical impact To support its stance on historical accuracy and the representativeness, War Thunder presents several sets of figures: * A breakdown by **National Force Composition in the Air Army** [Source: History of VVS and KVVS until 1948] that illustrates how close their representations come to realistic proportions and allocation. Note Table 1) | Force | Share Percentage | | — | — | | Soviet | **44%** | | German | **27.5%** | | Japanese | **15%** | | US-American | **7%** | | British | **5.5%** | | Italian | **1.5%** | | Other | **0.5%** | [Table 1: Rough representation of various airforces’ participation according to ‘History of VVS and KVVS until 1948′”] Check out the 50 Cheapest Guns Now**Battle and mission implementation statistics show an approximately evenly distributed amount of ‘ground, Sea and Air targets**” with ‘approximately evenly distributed types of objectives including strategic sites, enemy lines, Convoy targets.’ More **Air Craft numbers & Variations Breakdown across Nations** [Aircraft Statistics as per historical records:] | Nation | Aircraft (#) | | — | — | | Soviet Union | **1244 (42%]** | | Germany | **733 (25%) | | USA | **531 (19%)** | | Britain | **363 (13%)** | | Italy | **123 (4%)** | [War Thunder, Battle Statistics in World of Planes Game, shows more information] Supporters suggest:❗ Most air crafts from **40% Russia**, /li> ❘ Second with **40%**, rest from various air craft nations’ **To support further; there might be slight variance, so as with these, their focus in specific periods within their coverage! War Thunder maintains efforts to cover history with these data for balance in an era’s focus and show respect, care and thought to provide game experiences & experiences across planes’ selection & in many historical engagements Is War Thunder guilty of bias or rather providing an enriching, balanced perspective on History?
Criticisms: Historical inaccuracies and exaggerated Russian involvement
Fans of other air forces and nations have alleged that Gaijin prioritizes depicting Soviet aircraft more accurately while downplaying other nations’ involvement, to the extent that whole nations or eras may be marginalized or entirely misrepresented. Some criticisms regarding historical inaccuracies and exaggerated Russian involvement point to specific game elements like:
- Misrepresentation of national colors on aircraft camouflage patterns
- Incorrect allocations of planes within nations and timeframes
- Missing or distorted war events or battles
- Inequitable aircraft selection, emphasizing Soviet models at the expense of other air forces
- Mismanaged balance, allowing Russian and Soviet planes to be vastly overpowered
To a lesser extent, enthusiasts note the conspicuous absence of prominent airforces, like Australia, Denmark, Greece, or Thailand, and lament the omission of important campaigns.
Support and justifications from the War Thunder Dev Team
In response to this criticism, the War Thunder Development Team has emphasized its commitment to historical accuracy, claiming to meticulously follow records from archives and consult with expert historians and former pilots to ensure their rendition of WWII air battles mirrors reality.
The developers, in blog posts and live streams, have explicitly disavowed any notion of bias. They contend their primary aim is to reflect the wartime experiences and historical records from multiple countries.
Some defenders argue that criticisms stem from:
- Perceived nationalist sentiments among community members who are less educated about non-Russian and other airforces
- Historical ignorance on the scale and impact of Soviet-era battles and planes
- Friction stemming from a ‘grass is always greener’ situation, where communities focus solely on their beloved air force while downplaying the prominence of Soviet/War-era aviation
They believe it is reasonable, given War Thunder’s Russian background and proximity, for their developers to start with this period. Supporters claim War Thunder aims for pan-avian representativeness, exploring how diverse aerial combat involved pilots from a range of backgrounds and allegiances.
In defense, Gaijin Entertainment, the studio, highlights how their content roadmap reveals plans for the recreation of numerous battleships, frigates and cruisers from several nation’s navy (and future update for Air Units) thus addressing critics ‘claim ‘ of exclusions. So far they continue to invest time in including aircraft in their repertoire!
