World of Tanks: HEAT review

World of Tanks: HEAT is a free-to-play team vehicle shooter from Wargaming, separate from World of Tanks, in which each player picks an Agent with special abilities and a customizable tank. It launched on May 26, 2026, on PC, Steam Deck, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S with cross-progression. Money buys HEAT-Coins for boosters, cosmetics and a Premium Battle Pass. Its score follows our research formula and can change once we play it.

What is World of Tanks: HEAT?

World of Tanks: HEAT is a standalone game from Wargaming, not a mode or update of World of Tanks. Wargaming describes it as a free-to-play tactical vehicle shooter set in an alternate post-World War II timeline, with tanks inspired by real designs from that era and reworked with experimental technology.

Each player picks an Agent, a pilot with an Agent trait and an Ultimate ability, in one of three roles: Defender, Assault or Marksman. Every Agent has a two-vehicle roster, and each tank can be upgraded with modules and equipment. Battles are 5v5 and 10v10, and Season 2 added a 20v20 version of Conquest. Launch modes were Hardpoint, Control, Kill Confirmed and Conquest across eight maps.

HEAT launched on May 26, 2026, after a closed beta that started on April 16. It runs on a new engine Wargaming built for the game. Seasons add Agents, tanks and maps: Season 2, Fire & Ash, began on September 2, 2026, with the Defender Agent Gambit, two new vehicles and the volcanic map Inferno One.

Is World of Tanks: HEAT free to play?

Yes. Wargaming's official monetization guide states: "Downloading is free, playing is free." It adds that you can progress without spending HEAT-Coins, the premium currency bought with real money, and calls every purchase optional.

You start with three Agents and their tanks: Chopper (Defender), Kent (Assault) and Hound (Marksman). The other five launch Agents and their tanks unlocked through free weekly Battle Passes during Season 0. Three currencies are earned by playing: Intel moves you through the Battle Pass, Tech pays for vehicle modules, and Credits are spent in the in-game Store.

Wargaming says every reward on the Season 1 and Season 2 Battle Pass tracks, including their new tanks, can be earned for free. From Season 2 on, an unfinished Battle Pass moves to an Archive when its season ends, so you can keep claiming its rewards later. Tanks from a missed season can also be bought in the Store for Credits.

Is World of Tanks: HEAT pay to win? What money buys

HEAT-Coins are the only currency bought with real money. According to Wargaming's monetization guide and Season 2 overview, they buy the following.

Premium Battle Pass: 1,000 HEAT-Coins in Season 2. It adds no rewards; it unlocks every tier from the start so you can claim rewards in any order with the Intel you earn.

Boosters: 100 HEAT-Coins each, lasting 10 battles. The Vehicle XP and Agent XP boosters add 50%, and the Tech booster adds 25%. One of each type can run at once.

Cosmetics: vehicle and Agent skins, 3D skins, charms, paints and camos. Some sell for Credits and some only for HEAT-Coins; Wargaming says they do not affect combat.

Conversions: HEAT-Coins convert into Credits, and Credits into Tech, one way only. HEAT-Coins also pay the fee for moving Vehicle XP between vehicles.

The ESRB lists In-Game Purchases without random items, and the official monetization guide describes no loot boxes. These official pages give no US dollar price for HEAT-Coins.

Based on what the official stores sell, we rate it as mildly pay to win; we will check this again when we play it ourselves.

World of Tanks: HEAT on PC, Mac, consoles and mobile

HEAT is available through Wargaming Game Center and Steam on Windows PC, and on Steam Deck, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and GeForce NOW. One Wargaming account carries your Agents, tanks and progress across every platform, and Wargaming describes full cross-platform play and progression.

There is no Mac or mobile version. Steam lists Windows only. The official site also lists GeForce NOW, NVIDIA's cloud streaming service.

On PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, Wargaming lists a default Performance mode targeting 60 FPS at 4K output with dynamic internal resolution up to 1080p, and a Quality mode at 30 FPS. Xbox Series S targets 60 FPS at 1080p, and PS5 Pro has dedicated Pro modes that use PSSR upscaling. Steam Deck offers 60 FPS Performance and 30 FPS Quality presets at 1280x800.

World of Tanks: HEAT system requirements

Steam and Wargaming's launch announcement list the same PC specs. Minimum: Windows 10 64-bit with the latest update, an Intel Core i5-4670K or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, 8 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (2 GB), AMD Radeon RX 560 (2 GB) or Intel Arc A310 (4 GB). DirectX 12 and 60 GB of storage are required.

Recommended: an Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB of RAM, and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6 GB), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (6 GB) or Intel Arc A750 (6 GB).

Both tiers target 1080p at 60 FPS with upscaling: the minimum tier assumes DLSS, XeSS or FSR in Performance mode at minimum settings, and the recommended tier assumes quality upscaling at maximum settings. An SSD is recommended at minimum and required at the recommended tier. Wargaming notes that heavy gameplay load may sometimes affect performance.

Games like World of Tanks: HEAT

If you want another free vehicle combat game, these titles from our catalog are the closest matches:

World of Tanks: Wargaming's original free-to-play tank game for Windows, through Wargaming Game Center and Steam. It is a different game from HEAT.

Crossout: a free-to-play online vehicle combat game on Windows, PlayStation and Xbox; its Steam listing is now titled Crossout Remastered.

ExoTanks: a free-to-play futuristic online tank shooter for Windows from Digital Universe.

War Thunder: Gaijin's free-to-play military vehicle game on Windows, Mac and Linux PCs, PlayStation and Xbox.

World of Tanks and HEAT both come from Wargaming and both install through Wargaming Game Center or Steam.

• World of Tanks
• Crossout
• ExoTanks
• War Thunder