14 DAY TRIAL // Lumbering tracked vehicles are not something one usually associates with the eSports scene, mainly because of the perceived stationary gameplay, sprawling combat maps and lengthy match duration.
But since the idea of pro-gaming first appeared in the late '90s, gaming in general has seen many improvements and now it's usually the multiplayer titles who offer the most polished and balanced gameplay.
Counter-Strike was among the first games who served as a foundation to the eSports scene, and now it appears that things have evolved so much that even World Of Tanks possesses a very real and cutthroat competitive scene.
Though Wargaming's creation hardly transpires the potential for fast-paced teamwork at first glance, the game has now become less of a World War 2 warzone simulator and more of a streamlined team shooter.
Wargaming reports that there are now over 80 million registered accounts for World of Tanks, and that they harbor over 40k eSports teams. The company reports that last year alone more than 200k players competed in more than 1000 tournaments.
The company has invested 10$ / €7 million in World of Tanks' eSports scene, and if some developers are trying to emulate a competitive environment through such player subsidies where there would otherwise be no competitive scene whatsoever, Wargaming seems to be merely reacting to its community's momentum.
As such, the company has attempted to abandon all pay-to-win features of World of Tanks in order to allow a fair competition to take place between its players.
"Professional sport - and gaming is no exception - is about fair competition. The introduction of our new free-to-win system will really help facilitate the development of World of Tanks as a true eSports discipline," the company's VP of publishing, Andrei Yarantsau, explained at the time.
The developers have been hard at work improving both the gameplay experience with a more robust physics engine and destructible environments, as well as the competitive elements, focusing heavily on balancing the game in order to facilitate a natural transition toward a healthy competitive ecosystem.
The company's removal of all pay-to-win features has also seeped into their other games as well, as both World of Warplanes and World of Warships are included in their plans for a worldwide eSports scene.
Together with other successful makers of competitive multiplayer games, they have shifted the revenue stream from in-game power to harmless customization options and premium vehicles that don't provide a direct advantage on the battlefield, attempting to reform the image of free-to-play games and enable a natural transition into the world of eSports.