▲
2
▼
Starting in 2021, War Thunder's official forums became notorious for being the center point of multiple leaks of export-restricted or regionally classified military documents from around the world detailing how various weapons and transportation equipment like tanks and fighter jets are built. The leaks are attributed to the fact that the game strives to depict the minutiae of warfare as realistically as possible, leading to players with military connections, or access to resources that are publicly available in other regions, sharing the documents on the forums in order to prove points regarding what would or would not be accurate in-game. Despite the forum moderators quickly removing these posts and issuing multiple warnings about them breaching international law, the issue became so prominent and recurring that laypeople began spreading rumors that the United States military had to start filtering out War Thunder players during the recruitment process, which American weapons contractor RTX Corporation denied.
Full list of leaks from 2021-2023:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924096000
AeroTime article about the leaks:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230117121047/https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/another-war-thunder-leak-player-reportedly-posts-restricted-f-16-documents
Axios article about the leaks:
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/20/pentagon-leak-war-thunder-discord
Sports Illustrated article with RTX Corporation's comments:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230124193915/https://videogames.si.com/news/war-thunder-national-security-risk
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924096000
AeroTime article about the leaks:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230117121047/https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/another-war-thunder-leak-player-reportedly-posts-restricted-f-16-documents
Axios article about the leaks:
https://www.axios.com/2023/04/20/pentagon-leak-war-thunder-discord
Sports Illustrated article with RTX Corporation's comments:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230124193915/https://videogames.si.com/news/war-thunder-national-security-risk
Related Games
X-Blades
60 Seconds!
Need for Speed: Most Wanted
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Old School RuneScape
In the Groove
FIFA Soccer 97
Postal 4: No Regerts
Atari: 80 Classic Games in One!
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Kingdom Hearts II
Outlast
Nightingale
Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium
Borderlands
Cry of Fear
Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath - Vengance of the Slayer
Game of Thrones
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
Super Dark Deception
Doom
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate
Super Danganronpa Another 2 ~The Moon of Hope and Sun of Despair~
Golden Axe
Splatterhouse
Furi
Bob the Builder: Can We Fix It?
Sega Superstars Tennis
Death Stranding
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
Stick Fight: The Game
Disney's The Emperor's New Groove
Bonanza Bros.
Pajama Sam 2: Thunder and Lightning Aren't so Frightening
Day of the Tentacle
Killer Instinct
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Mighty No. 9
Cities: Skylines
Suikoden II
Streets of Rage 3
Adrenix
MediEvil
Far Cry: Primal
Fur Fighters
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Escape from Monkey Island
King's Quest VIII: The Mask of Eternity
Just Dance 2014
Metaphor: ReFantazio