Just six months after shutting down its live-service game, Wargaming is already launching another title — this time free-to-play — convinced that lessons from Steel Hunters will ensure success. The studio is confident that World of Tanks: Heat will rise where its predecessor fell.

Wargaming is moving forward with a fresh project: World of Tanks: Heat. It’s an unusual gamble for the Russian developer, traditionally known for simulators and historically grounded games, now shifting gears into an arcade-style hero shooter designed for quick, “drop-in, drop-out” sessions. The company has emphasized that Heat will be completely free-to-play, requiring no upfront payments, a promise that has intrigued some players but also sparked doubts after the failure of Steel Hunters. What lessons has Wargaming really taken from a project that launched only four months ago and is already closing this October?

At a pre-Gamescom 2025 event, we sat down with the Wargaming team to preview Heat alongside World of Tanks 2.0. Artyom Yantsevich, the game’s director, didn’t shy away from acknowledging past missteps: “We’ve discussed and shared ideas with the Steel Hunters team, and what I can say is that we’ve paid very close attention to player expectations in this market for a game like Heat.”

Wargaming Puts Transparency at the Center

While denying that Steel Hunters was inherently flawed, Yantsevich stressed that Heat is being built to be more refined on multiple fronts — physics, mechanics, gameplay, and reward systems. “We want to be transparent with players from day one,” he explained, aiming for open communication before, during, and after release to shape the game around community feedback.

The new title represents a chance to rebuild trust. Developers are improving UI design, optimizing servers, and reworking progression to keep long-term fans engaged and bring back users disillusioned by Steel Hunters, a title that barely drew 35 players yesterday. “We believe competing in such a big market means carefully listening to what players want,” Yantsevich noted. “One of the ways we’ll deliver that is through cross-play and cross-progression.”

Though World of Tanks: Heat still lacks a release date, Wargaming confirmed it will launch simultaneously on PC and consoles. The company is betting heavily that this new free-to-play approach can restore faith in the franchise after Steel Hunters’ disappointment.

Source: 3djuegos