War Thunder Ground Forces expansion now in closed beta on PC

War Thunder, Gaijin Entertainment's massively multiplayer online World War II combat title, launched the closed beta of the Ground Forces expansion on Windows PC today, the developer has announced.

The closed beta is available to players who participated in November's in-game challenges and includes first hands-on time with the game's tanks and ground artillery, plus a new progression system.

Gaijin is also offering Collector's Advanced packs, which include content that will later become collector's items, for players to purchase. These packs range in price from $49.99 to $99.99 and include new German and Soviet tanks, packs of Golden Eagles (War Thunder's in-game currency), and unique player titles and decals. Purchase of one of these packs will also grant players' guaranteed access to the closed beta for Ground Forces later in the month. Individual packs' contents and pricing are listed on the game's official website.

"Our ultimate goal is to have hundreds of thousands of individual games made up of dozens of players who can experience intense battles where they come from the skies, the land and eventually from the sea," Gaijin CEO Anton Yudintsev said in a press statement. "The launch of Ground Forces expansion closed beta is another step towards that goal."

War Thunder is currently in open beta on Windows PC and PlayStation 4. A Mac version and Oculus Rift support are currently in development.