New War Thunder update Leviathans adds iconic vehicles to the free combat sim

Fresh War Thunder patch notes are here for the new Leviathans update, which brings dozens more vehicles to the tremendously popular free Steam war game. Gaijin Entertainment's latest overhaul bolsters the combat simulator with a vast haul of tanks, SAM vehicles, aircraft, and battleships, including some of the most famous names in naval warfare. There are also new map updates, the introduction of a multi-vehicle SAM system, and interface overhauls such as a dedicated radar control screen and extra action panel buttons.

With peak player counts that frequently creep just shy of the 100,000 mark daily, the free Steam game has remained a fixture of our best war games, boasting cross-platform PvE and PvP combat with full cross-play and impressive visuals and sound design. The new War Thunder Leviathans update is the second major patch of 2025, and introduces a huge number of additional vehicles to the mix as well as several welcome quality-of-life upgrades.

Perhaps the biggest winner here is the introduction of multiple iconic battleships. Delivering on the update's name are the likes of Yamato, Bismarck, the USS Iowa, HMS Vanguard, and Sovetsky Soyuz. In the skies, there's the RAH-66 Comanche, which comes loaded with a full complement of Stingers, Hydra rockets, and Hellfire Bs. Japan gets the long-requested F-2A, a jet derived from the F-16 that's capable of handling air and ground targets with ease, and there's a new subset of Swiss aircraft included in the Germany tree.

Leviathans doesn't slack on the ground vehicle side, however. It introduces the first multi-vehicle SAM systems, which comprise the USA's CLAWS, Germany's IRIS-T SLM, and Japan's Tan-SAM Kai. These spawn you into a 'hub' vehicle with a radar that can place launchers, which you then switch between. The new, dedicated radar control screen shows a 360-degree display around you, with the ability to switch between tracked targets on the fly.

Top-tier air battles get a new location, the Falkland Islands, which spans 130 x 130 km in size, giving plenty of space for dogfights across its hills and grassy plains. The Berlin and Kuban ground maps have both been given visual overhauls, although Gaijin says these changes have very minimal gameplay impact, so expect the pair to feel familiar to their previous incarnations.

Over on the UI side, the action panel has several new buttons handling key functions, such as retracting/extending landing gear, shifting to hover mode, or turning on seekers, helping you quickly access them without the need to remember specific keybinds. You'll now see a card when you are destroyed that shows your assailant's vehicle type and the ammunition they used. If you want to show off in the skies, the F-111 now has the ability to fuel dump to create a large jet of flame behind you.

The War Thunder Leviathans update launches Wednesday June 25. You can read through the full patch notes courtesy of Gaijin Entertainment for a closer look at the changes. Most notably, destroying enemy aircraft carriers no longer results in an instant win in Air Realistic Battles, and computer-controlled gunners on ships have been made less accurate, giving you a better chance at conducting a successful assault from above with a smart approach and active maneuvering.

For plenty more ways to soar through the skies, here's our pick of the best flight sims on PC. We've also rounded up the best simulation games in 2025 for plenty more realistic takes on all manner of things.

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